Josef Suk played second violin in the Bohemian String Quartet. Since 1914 the ensemble was obliged to perform the Austrian national anthem at the opening of every concert.Suk decided to supplement this obligatory piece with a work inspired by the ancient sacred Bohemian 'St. Wenceslas? hymn. The hymn's message - a plea for the well-being of the Czech people, directed at their patron saint - was immediately understood by the audience.The Bohemian String Quartet performed this single-movement Meditation for the first time on 27 September 1914 - the premiere of the version for string orchestra followed on 22 November 1914, played by the Czech Philharmonic. That same year the piece was published by Fr. A. Urbánek together with arrangements for piano and organ.This first Urtext edition, prepared by the Suk scholar Zdenek Nouza, is published in two scorings, one for string quartet (BA 9583 - study score TP 583) and another for string orchestra (BA 9584).The orchestral version differs in some details and has an added part for double bass. - First Urtext edition - Informative trilingual Foreword (Cz/Eng/Ger) and Critical Commentary (Eng) by the editor / Quatuor A Cordes

Impressions On Beethoven's Harp Quartet. Par AMANTI LUCIO. When Cuarteto Casals approached me with the idea of illuminating Beethoven´s quartets anew, you can imagine the many thoughts and feelings that where going through my mind: what a joy, what a great honor… What an intriguing head-scratcher! How can you possibly shine a new light on something that is already perfect? Weeks, months went by in search of a common ground between the Master and myself until I finally found it in the realization that a word lays “hidden” in the St. John’s hymn that gave musical notes their original name: ‘Re, Sol, Ut, Io’ (D, G, C, B in English music notation) Perfect! “Resolutio” in Latin means both the resolution of a problem and the re-solution: a re-blend of many elements that will eventually coagulate to make something new. There was finally the melodic and a rhythmical canvas for my piece. On this canvas I wrote the story of a funny little contest, played on a sunny Mediterranean square, between street musicians and Cuarteto Casals just minutes before they are about to go on stage to perform Beethoven´s “Harp Quartet”. After all the characters, each in his own way, had the chance to tell their story, a gentle rain starts to fall, dissolving (Re-solving) again the music sheet to eventually leave us with just a white piece of paper for somebody else to continue the Work. (Lucio Franco Amanti) / Niveau : Avancé / Répertoire / 2 Violons, Alto et Violoncelle

Originaire comme l'équivalent musical d'une oeuvre d'art conceptuel, cette pièce dispose de plusieurs versions de la scène, provenant souvent des occasions particulières et des environnements. Tous les matériaux utilisés sont issues de la recherche et de concussions sur le naufrage du 'insubmersible' paquebot le 14 Avril 1912 après avoir heurté un iceberg lors de son voyage inaugural. Le point de départ initial était le fait rapporté de la bande jouant 'Automne' la mélodie de l'hymne dans les derniers instants de naufrage du navire, ainsi que d'autres caractéristiques de la catastrophe qui génèrent des matières performance musicale ou sonore ou qui 'se l'esprit à d'autres régions '. Autre matière est superposée à l'hymne, y compris des fragments deentretiens avec des survivants, des séquences Morse, les références musicales à différentes mélodies possibles pour l'hymne, le son de l'impact de l'iceberg, et ainsi de suite. / Quatuor A Cordes

Als Auftragswerk für das Kronos Quartet entstanden, schildert diese Komposition facettenreich den Glanz des alten Ägyptens: Lyrisch-fließende Motive verbinden orientalische Melismen und majestätische Hymnen zu einer exotischen Klangmischung. / Quatuor A Cordes

String Quartet No. 4. Par BARRY GERALD. The title of Barry’s fourth string quartet refers to a Kafka story of the same name about a trapeze artist who is happy only when aloft. This is striking music, full of fragility, beauty, outbursts and to finish, an unexpected hymn sung by the quartet./ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes