Kevin Volans' String Quartet No. 9: Shiva Dances was commissioned by BBC Radio 3...(+)
Kevin Volans' String Quartet No. 9: Shiva Dances was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and first performed by the Smith Quartet at the 2004 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.Kevin Volans (the composer) notes on the piece:In the past I have been interested in trying to go beyond historicism (1970s) beyond style(1980s) and beyond form (1990s) in my work. Looking back over the music of the twentiethcentury I was struck by the fact the nearlyall of it is extremely 'busy' almost cluttered. Italmost seemed that composers felt compelled to look industrious. In the new millennium Ithought it would be interesting to try and eliminate content. I also aspired to movingfrommusic (sound as art) to art (art as sound). This of course has already been done by a numberof composers (many from New York Phil Niblock and La Monte Young to name but two) butit was something I had never tried.AlthoughI found it annoying that the label 'minimalist' was given to my African-based work and fearing this would make the label stick I set out to write a piece which reflected my loveof minimal painting and architecture. The Japanesehave a term 'wabi' meaning 'voluntarypoverty' or 'emptiness' to describe their restrained minimal aesthetic an aesthetic which however pays greatest attention to the quality of material and fine detail. I like to think thatthelack of excessive pitch material in this piece reflects a kind of voluntary poverty.When Shiva is portrayed dancing (as Nataraj) He is depicted in a circle of flames crushing asmall figure the ego underfoot.You get theimpression He dances on the spot not movingaround at all. I like that.The piece is dedicated to Pablo Pascual Cilleruelo.
Kevin Volans' String Quartet No. 9: Shiva Dances was commissioned by BBC Radio 3...(+)
Kevin Volans' String Quartet No. 9: Shiva Dances was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and first performed by the Smith Quartet at the 2004 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.Kevin Volans (the composer) notes on the piece:In the past I have been interested in trying to go beyond historicism (1970s) beyond style(1980s) and beyond form (1990s) in my work. Looking back over the music of the twentiethcentury I was struck by the fact the nearlyall of it is extremely 'busy' almost cluttered. Italmost seemed that composers felt compelled to look industrious. In the new millennium Ithought it would be interesting to try and eliminate content. I also aspired to movingfrommusic (sound as art) to art (art as sound). This of course has already been done by a numberof composers (many from New York Phil Niblock and La Monte Young to name but two) butit was something I had never tried.AlthoughI found it annoying that the label 'minimalist' was given to my African-based work and fearing this would make the label stick I set out to write a piece which reflected my loveof minimal painting and architecture. The Japanesehave a term 'wabi' meaning 'voluntarypoverty' or 'emptiness' to describe their restrained minimal aesthetic an aesthetic which however pays greatest attention to the quality of material and fine detail. I like to think thatthelack of excessive pitch material in this piece reflects a kind of voluntary poverty.When Shiva is portrayed dancing (as Nataraj) He is depicted in a circle of flames crushing asmall figure the ego underfoot.You get theimpression He dances on the spot not movingaround at all. I like that.The piece is dedicated to Pablo Pascual Cilleruelo.
Early String Quartets-The Weinzierl castle in Lower Austria which still stands ...(+)
Early String Quartets-The Weinzierl castle in Lower Austria which still stands today can be considered to be the birthplace of a chamber music genre which is firmly established in our present-day repertoire. The young Haydn was invited to spend sometime at this place by a wealthy musical friend and often met up with the steward at the castle the castle priest and the cellist Anton Albrechtsberger to make music. Although his first two works for '2 violins viola and bass'still have five movements their musical value establishes the success of the string quartet in its own right.Also available as part of a 12 part set including all Haydn's works for String Quartet Cat. No. HN9216
10 Fugues For String Quartet Vol. 2. Par BACH JOHANN-SEBASTIAN. The idea for the...(+)
10 Fugues For String Quartet Vol. 2. Par BACH JOHANN-SEBASTIAN. The idea for these arrangements came to me whilst listening to the Hagen Quartet's beautiful recording of the fugues that form part of Haydn's 'Sun Quartets', Op. 20. The spirit and influence of J.S. Bach, in particular his Well Tempered Clavier, Book II, courses through these three miraculous Haydn fugues. Like the viol consort, the string quartet suits this kind of composition (the fugue), with all four instruments sufficiently similar in character to each other to match the extraordinary unity and economy of the counterpoint. A string quartet playing Bach fugues is a good example of a harmonious relationship between form andcontent: just as there is a unifying principle behind the construction of the four string instruments, so there is (usually) a single theme or subject that unifies the construction of a four-part fugue. Thus the form enacts the content, telling you something about the text and message within. Apart from Haydn's and a handful of other composers' wondrous creations, there's little fugal writing for string quartet, at least in comparison with the abundance of other forms. This was another reason to make these arrangements. The quartet offers a melodic independence impossible to achieve on a single instrument. And I believe the technical and interpretative challenges posed by this repertoire and ndash - lightness of sound and rhythmic fluidity, for example - will be very valuable to quartets seeking the holy grail: a unified sound. Perhaps the simplest and most compelling reason for this work is that I just love this music more than I can say. These dazzling pieces, mostly fast, bright and in major keys, show Bach at his most playful, funny and mischievous, composing for an instrument rarely associated with these qualities. And so I'm very happy to offer string quartets these little know fugues, written by my favourite composer - a violinist and violist himself, but above all a master / Classique / Date parution : 2018-05-04/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes
Born in South Africa but now an Irish citizen Kevin Volans? musical idiom has ...(+)
Born in South Africa but now an Irish citizen Kevin Volans? musical idiom has been shaped by an unusually diverse range of experiences including studies with Stockhausen in Cologne field trips to South Africa tostudy traditional music his own involvement with the New Simplicity movement his collection of contemporary art and African textiles friendships with composers like Morton Feldman and Gerald Barry as well as a love of virtuosopiano music which he performs broadcasts and records. While having an easily recognised unique voice Volans? music resists compartmentalisation. He is as comfortable working in conventional genres as embarking oninnovative collaborations with artists of other disciplines. String Quartet No.1 (White Man Sleeps) was written for the Kronos Quartet and was first performed by them in July 1986 London.The title?White Man Sleeps? comes from a moment in nyanga Panpipe music where the performers leave off playing their loud pipes for a few cycles and dance only to the sound of their ankle rattles to let the whitelandowner sleep for a minute or two.'In composing this piece I drew from the following sources: the first movement owes something to the style of Basotho concertina music; the second and fourth movements are drawnfrom traditional Nyungwe music played by Makina Chirenje and his Nyanga panpipe group at Nsava Tete Mozambique recorded and transcribed by Andrew Tracey (to be found in an article entitled ?The nyanga Panpipe dance? in AfricanMusic Vol.5 No.1 (1971); the third movement derives from the San bow music (recorded by Tony Traill of the University of Witwatersrand) and from Basotho lesiba music transcribed by myself; in the fifth movement I added my owninvented folklore. My approach to the original music was anything but purist it is played in Western tuning filtered slowed down by a few ?time-octaves? cast into non-African metres (like the 13-beat pattern of the first
La musique de chambre est un élément essentiel d'apprendre à jouer d'un instr...(+)
La musique de chambre est un élément essentiel d'apprendre à jouer d'un instrument, et ces quatuors polyvalents sont écrits de sorte qu'ils peuvent être effectuées par n'importe quelle combinaison de quatre instruments à cordes. Organisé par l'éminent pédagogue chaîne Doris Gazda, ces pièces se fera entendre pleine et satisfaisante avec seulement quatre joueurs tout le chemin jusqu'à un orchestre à cordes.La sélection de la musique dans cette collection couvre une grande variété de styles musicaux qui offrent des heures de plaisir et de la performance des options. Progressivement organisé par niveau de difficulté que l'avance les artistes dans leurs compétences, ces quatuors sont un ajout bienvenu au répertoire de tous les instrumentistes à cordes. / Violoncelle
La musique de chambre est un élément essentiel d'apprendre à jouer d'un instr...(+)
La musique de chambre est un élément essentiel d'apprendre à jouer d'un instrument, et ces quatuors polyvalents sont écrits de sorte qu'ils peuvent être effectuées par n'importe quelle combinaison de quatre instruments à cordes. Organisé par l'éminent pédagogue chaîne Doris Gazda, ces pièces se fera entendre pleine et satisfaisante avec seulement quatre joueurs tout le chemin jusqu'à un orchestre à cordes.La sélection de la musique dans cette collection couvre une grande variété de styles musicaux qui offrent des heures de plaisir et de la performance des options. Progressivement organisé par niveau de difficulté que l'avance les artistes dans leurs compétences, ces quatuors sont un ajout bienvenu au répertoire de tous les instrumentistes à cordes. / Alto
Canticle. Par JALBERT PIERRE. Canticle (String Quartet No. 6) was commissioned b...(+)
Canticle. Par JALBERT PIERRE. Canticle (String Quartet No. 6) was commissioned by the Chiara String Quartet. It consists of seven movements, highly contrasting in character, with movements I and VII serving as similar bookends to the overall arch of the work. The piece opens with the quartet members striking various crotales, producing bell sounds that eventually blend with the string quartet – evoking the title, Canticle. The faster, pulse-oriented music requires the players to use glass rods on their instruments and at one point quickly moves back and forth between alternating rhythmic subdivisions, producing extremely rapid metric modulations. The last movement blends the string quartet with the bowing of the crotales to produce an ethereal, other-worldly finale to the canticle. Pierre Jalbert / Niveau : Avancé / Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes
Into the faded air was commissioned by Britten Sinfonia for first performance at...(+)
Into the faded air was commissioned by Britten Sinfonia for first performance at Filharmonic Hall Krakow Poland on Sunday 13th January 2008 with Jacqueline Shave (Violin) Miranda Dale (Violin) Clare Finnimore(Viola) Catherine Musker (Viola) Caroline Dearnley (Cello) and Banjamin Chappell (Cello).Scoring: String Sextet (2 Violins 2 Violas and 2 Cellos)Duration: 10 minutes Composer'sNotes 'Into The Faded Air is cast in four movements although the last three movements are played without a break.In the first movement the sextet is divided into twogroups. The first group consisting of violin viola and cello plays a sustained melody while the second group (also violin viola and cello) contributes more jagged and intricate material. The second movement is an extended duetfor two violas accompanied by the other instruments. As the movement progresses the accompanying instruments become more prominent. The third movement is the only fast movement in the piece with rapid semiquavers and much useof pizzicato throughout. This leads into a serene chorale where the three upper instruments (two violins and first viola) are set against the second viola and two cellos.' - HelenGrime
