John Luther Adams' Canticles Of The Sky for String Quartet. Composer's Note: In the Arctic sky the low angle of the sun and heavy ice crystals in the air often produce vivid halos arcs andsundogs (parhelia). Sometimes these phenomena create the illusion of multiple suns. 'Sky With Four Suns' is a musical evocation of such an apparition from sunrise to sunset. Similar visions also occur at night which isthe image behind 'Sky With Four Moons.' 'Sky With Nameless Colors' and 'Sky With Endless Stars' evoke the extraordinary depth and clarity of Sonoran Desert skies. This music is drawn from Canticles of the Holy Wind– a concert-length work for four choirs and vocal soloists. In this version sixteen separate choral parts have been condensed into the string quartet. String designations should be carefully observed. Frequent stringcrossings are employed to create as lush and continuous textures as possible. All sounds should be legato. Bowing is free and full throughout. Total performance duration is about 18:00

Par JOLAS BETSY. 'Almost half a century after 'B for sonata', here is another musical evocation of my intriguing trip to Bali. Yannis Xenakis and Toru Takemitsu were there, among others, and we were walking around in the dark one evening when a Topeng appeared to us, in full action: Balinese musical theatre with one actor successively playing several legendary characters by means of mask changes carried out in extreme agitation behind a curtain, accompanied by a raging gamelan. The memory of these little dramas has naturally lost much of its violence when it is evoked today in my 'Quartet VIII'. So we shall hear it here as if in a dream...'' Betsy Jolas / Date parution : 2022-06-08/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

In his Kongsgaard Variations (2006) Swedish composer Anders Hillborg takes the Arietta-theme from Beethoven’s last piano-sonata No. 32 in C minor Op. 111 as the basis for an evocative 16-minute string quartet. Beethoven’s sublime music drifts strangely through the centuries and is warped vaporised and refashioned as if in the words of Hillborg the Arietta ‘is dreaming yet another variation on itself’.

Ed Hughes' Secret Sky for Piano Quartet.Secret Sky was commissioned by the Schubert Ensemble's Chamber Music 2000 project and has been performed by school children in the south west of England and in the Purcell Room by music college students. The piece lasts 4 minutes and aims to create an evocative sound scape through pools of modal harmony created by a mix of piano repeating patterns and melodies in the 3 strings. As in all my work the ebb and flow of line is important to the development tensions and resolutions of the piece. The piece is probably suitable for players of the standard of at least Grade 6. It can be performed either by violin viola cello andpiano or by 2 violins cello and piano. - Ed HughesCommission made possible by Michael McLaren for his daughter Iona McLaren.

Winter soundscapes is a collection of seven evocative sound pictures which conjure up the landscapes and feelings of a traditional hard winter. The pieces contrast one another with relaxed fireside scenes next to relentless snowstorms allowing young players to experiment with a number of styles and techniques. This is a great alternative to carols for December concerts and suitable for working on long after Christmas too. Ideal concert fillers for the Intermediate string quartet with the added flexibility of a violin 3 alternative to viola.

For String Quartet-A short peaceful and evocative work modal in character and of great reflective charm.