Harbor Music Quatuor à cordes: 2 violons, alto, violoncelle Theodore Presser Co.
String Quartet SKU: PR.16400222S Composed by Dan Welcher. Full score (stu...(+)
String Quartet
SKU:
PR.16400222S
Composed
by Dan Welcher. Full
score (study). With
Standard notation.
Duration 11 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#164-00222S. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.16400222S).
UPC:
680160037841.
This
work follows my Quartet
No. 1 by five years. In
terms of style and
aesthetic aim, however,
it seems light years
away. Where the first
work, a 28-minute,
four-movement piece, took
aim at cosmic conflicts
and heroic resolutions,
the present work is
intended as a kind of
divertissment. Harbor
Music lasts a mere eleven
minutes, is cast in a
single movement with six
sections, and should
leave both performers and
listeners with a feeling
of good humor and
affection. The
title comes from my
experience as a guest in
the magnificent city of
Sydney, Australia. One of
its most attractive
features is its unique
system of ferry boats:
the city is laid out
around a large,
multi-channeled harbor,
with destinations more
easily approached by
water than by land.
Consequently, inhabitants
of Sydney get around on
small, people-friendly
boats that come and go
from the central docks at
Circular Quay. During a
week's visit in 1991, I
must have boarded these
boats at least a dozen
times, always bound for a
new location - the resort
town of Manley, or the
Zoo at Taronga Park, or
the shopping district at
Darling Harbour.
In casting about for a
form for my second string
quartet, a kind of loose
rondo came to mind. Each
new destination would be
approached from the same
starting-out point
(although there are
subtle variations in the
repeating theme; it's
always in a new key, and
the texture is never the
same). The result, I
hope, is a sense of
constant new information
presented with
introductory frames of a
more familiar nature.
The embarkation
theme, which begins the
piece, is a sort of
bi-tonal fanfare in which
the violins are in G
major and the viola and
cello are in B-flat
major. It is bold, eager,
and forward-looking. The
first voyage maintains
this bi-tonality,
beginning as a 9/8 due
for second violin and
viola in a kind of
rocking motion -much as a
boat produces when
reaching the deeper water
in the harbor. A sweet,
nostalgic theme emerges
over this rocking
accompaniment. This music
is developed somewhat,
then transforms quickly
into a much faster and
lighter episode, filled
with rising and falling
scales (again, in
differing keys). A
scherzando interlude in
short notes and changing
meters provides contrast,
and the episode ends with
a reprise of the scales.
The second
embarkation follows, this
time in A major/C major.
It leads quickly into a
very warm and slow theme,
in wide-leaping intervals
for the viola. This
section is interrupted
twice by solo cadenzas
for the cello, suggesting
distant boat-horns in
major thirds. The end of
the episode becomes a
transition, with
boat-horns leading into
the final appearance of
the embarkation music,
this time in trills and
tremolos instead of
sharply accented chords.
The nostalgic theme of
the first episode makes a
final appearance, serving
now as a coda. The
rocking motion continues,
in a lullaby fashion,
leaving us drowsy and
satisfied on our homeward
journey. Harbor
Music was written for the
Cavani Quartet, and is
dedicated to Richard J.
Bogomolny. Commissioned
by his employees at First
National Supermarkets as
a gift, it represents a
thank you from many of
the people (including
this composer) who have
benefitted from his
vision and generosity. An
ardent advocate of
chamber music (and a
cellist himself), Mr.
Bogomolny has for many
years been Chairman of
the Board of Chamber
Music America. -- Dan
Welcher.
Tenor & String Quartet SKU: PE.EP72822 Composed by Jonathan Dove. Voice(s...(+)
Tenor & String Quartet
SKU: PE.EP72822
Composed by Jonathan
Dove. Voice(s) & Various
Instruments. Edition
Peters. Living Composer.
Score and Part(s). 164
pages. Duration 00:30:00.
Edition Peters
#98-EP72822. Published by
Edition Peters
(PE.EP72822).
ISBN
9790577011769. 232 x
303mm inches.
English.
I have
only visited Damascus
once, twenty years ago,
on the way to
Palmyra. I had a
purpose (I was writing
music for a play about
Palmyra’s Queen
Zenobia) but essentially
I was a tourist.
Like any visitor, I was
thrilled to step out of
the noisy modern city
into the magical ancient
world of the walled Old
City, its vibrant souk
leading to the
magnificent mosque, and a
labyrinth of winding,
narrow streets filled
with the smell of
unleavened
bread.
In Palmyra,
I was met with
extraordinary kindness
everywhere. On one
occasion, a little
Bedouin boy noticed that
I was risking sunstroke
wandering bare-headed
among the spectacular
ruins: he showed me how
to tie a turban, then
took me to have tea with
his family in their
tent.
Since then, I
have watched helplessly
as these places of wonder
have been devastated and
their inhabitants
scattered and
killed. When the
Sacconi Quartet suggested
that I might choose a
Syrian poet for our
collaboration, I welcomed
the idea.
I
searched for a long time
to find a contemporary
poet whose work might
gain from any music I
could imagine. I
felt it was important to
find first-hand accounts
of the Syrian experience
– but, of course, I
was always reading them
in translation. In
an anthology
called Syria
Speaks, I was
astonished to read
something that looked
like prose, but was full
of poetry. It was
Anne-Marie
McManus’s fine
translation of Ali
Safar’s A
Black Cloud in a Leaden
White Sky
– an
eloquent, thoughtful,
contained yet vivid
account of life in a
war-torn country, all the
more moving for its
restraint.
In
setting these words, I
have not attempted to
imitate Syrian
music. However,
there is what might be
called a linguistic
accommodation in my
choice of scale, or
mode. Several
movements are in a mode
that I first discovered
while writing a cantata
commemorating the First
World War: it has a
tuning that I associate
with war, its violence
and desolation.
This eight-note
mode is similar to scales
found in Syrian
music. I did not
choose it in the
abstract: it emerged from
the harmonies I was
exploring in the earlier
work, and emerged again
as I was looking for the
right musical colours to
set Ali Safar’s
words. In this
work, its Arabic aspect
is more prominent. -
Jonathan
Dove
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product is Printed on
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Please order from your
favorite retailer.
Chamber Music String Quartet - Advanced SKU: PR.114414200 For String Q...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet - Advanced
SKU: PR.114414200
For String
Quartet. Composed by
James Matheson. Sws each.
Contemporary. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation.
Composed February 10
1998. 24+8+8+8+8 pages.
Duration 13 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#114-41420. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.114414200).
ISBN
9781491111284. UPC:
680160594719. 9x12
inches.
Composed
for violinist Baird
Dodge, James Matheson's
SPIN is a three-movement
study in various meanings
of the word spin. I. Gyre
has the character of a
whimsically spinning
object in a sort of
arena. II. Web is
essentially a slow
movement. It explores a
nearly static, sinewy
texture comprised of
slowly undulating chords
in which snippets of
melody emerge from the
notes held while the
chords disappear. Similar
to the first movement,
III. Spiral explores a
kinetic notion of
spinning, this time in
the form of rapidly
rising scales. SPIN
was composed in early
1998. Each of the
work’s three
movements assumes the
task of exploring a
different meaning of the
title.The first movement,
Gyre (as in gyroscope),
has the character of a
whimsically spinning
object in a sort of arena
– spinning and
bouncing off the walls
(like a spinning penny,
which bounces off of an
object unpredictably and
with somewhat explosive
force). The primary
musical idea consists of
high harmonics in the
violins set against a
rocking pulse in the
lower strings. This basic
texture is explored in
various guises as the
movement progresses.Web
is essentially a slow
movement. It explores a
nearly static, sinewy
texture comprised of
slowly undulating chords.
Snippets of melody emerge
from the notes held while
the chords disappear. The
music intensifies,
leading to an expected
climax (or anti-climax)
of pizzicatos, before
returning to the opening
material and winding
gently to a close.Like
Gyre, the third movement,
Spiral, explores a
kinetic notion of
spinning, this time in
the form of rapidly
rising scales. The formal
idea of this movement,
however, has the
character of a spiral,
with its tendency toward
implosion.SPIN was
written for violinist
Baird Dodge.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.11440902S Composed by Behzad Ranjbar...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.11440902S
Composed
by Behzad Ranjbaran. Full
score. With Standard
notation. Composed 1990.
44 pages. Duration 22
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-40902S.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.11440902S).
UPC:
680160013708.
The
quartet begins with a
5-note motif, played in
unison that permeates
melodically and
harmonically throughout
the movement. The
energetic and hard-driven
character of the second
musical idea propels the
music forward with fast
moving notes and greater
urgency. It often
alternates with the more
lyrical rendition of the
5-note motif, yielding
contrasting sections.
After a brief coda, the
5-note motif concludes
the movement much the
same way it had begun but
with greater intensity.
The second movement
explores the world of
fantasy. To some extent
the beginning and the
ending of the movement
function as the opening
and closing doors that
separate the reality from
the dream and
subconscious. It is one
continuous movement in an
arch form that gradually
accelerates to an
expansive emotional
climax and returning
steadily to the surface
led by an ethereal solo
cello. The transcendent
ending is similar to the
beginning, though half
step higher. The third
movement begins boldly
with the 5-note motif
transformed into a dance
character in a compound
meter. The asymmetrical
meter of the Persian folk
music influences much of
the rhythmic character of
the movement. The return
of many materials from
earlier movements
interwoven into the
fabric of this movement
reinforces the cyclical
and organic character of
the quarter.
Particularly, a
mysterious passage,
reminiscence of the
second movement leading
to a brief full-blown
ballad is a favorite
moment of Ranjbaran's in
the quartet. A blazingly
virtuosic viola leads the
quartet to an uplifting
conclusion.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.14440398S Composed by James Primosch...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.14440398S
Composed
by James Primosch. Full
score. With Standard
notation. Duration 20
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #144-40398S.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.14440398S).
UPC:
680160030101.
Primo
sch's String Quartet No.
3 sets out as a theme and
variations, but a sudden
Fantasia finds its way
into the mix. Upon
returning to another
variation, we find
elements of the Fantasia
now appearing, leading to
a viola cadenza and the
ultimate unison
re-statement of a slow
variation. Composed for
the Ying Quartet and
commissioned by the
Philadelphia Chamber
Music Society, String
Quartet No. 3 had its
premiere in 1999. For
advanced performers.
Duration: 20'.
Chamber Music String Quartet SKU: PR.144403980 Composed by James Primosch...(+)
Chamber Music String
Quartet
SKU:
PR.144403980
Composed
by James Primosch. Set of
Score and Parts. With
Standard notation.
Composed 1999.
32+16+16+16+16 pages.
Duration 22 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#144-40398. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.144403980).
UPC:
680160030088.
Primo
sch's String Quartet No.
3 sets out as a theme and
variations, but a sudden
Fantasia finds its way
into the mix. Upon
returning to another
variation, we find
elements of the Fantasia
now appearing, leading to
a viola cadenza and the
ultimate unison
re-statement of a slow
variation. Composed for
the Ying Quartet and
commissioned by the
Philadelphia Chamber
Music Society, String
Quartet No. 3 had its
premiere in 1999. For
advanced performers.
Duration: 20'.
String Quartet - difficult SKU: HL.49008109 Score and Parts. Compo...(+)
String Quartet -
difficult
SKU:
HL.49008109
Score
and Parts. Composed
by Peteris Vasks. This
edition: Saddle
stitching. Sheet music.
Edition Schott.
Classical. Score and
Parts. Composed 1995. 96
pages. Duration 27'.
Schott Music #ED8640.
Published by Schott Music
(HL.49008109).
ISBN
9790001120678. UPC:
073999881493.
9.0x12.0x0.268
inches.
'Christmas
* Peace on Earth' is the
leading motive of the
String Quartet, a tenet
of faith as well as an
expression of hope. In
the first part of the
work Vasks uses themes
from a well-known
Christmas carol, while
the second part is
strongly influenced by
Latvian folksongs and
dances. The third
section, with a
chromaticiscm strongly
reminiscent of
Shostakovitch,
investigates and
questions the feasibility
of any peace in our
society. The final, calm
and slightly melancholy
section symbolizes 'Peace
on Earth' by means of
sonorous sustained
choirs.