Final Days (String Quartet No. 3)
Bruce J. Taub
About this work:
Final Days (String Quartet No.3) was completed in February of 1988 and is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Anne Halitcher Taub, who passed away in January of that year during the time that I was writing it. There are two movements, fast and slow ("Before" and "After"), that are symmetrical and approximately the same length. The first section (or part) of the first movement slowly builds to a climax by adding the four instruments one by one beginning with the lowest register (cello solo) and expanding to include the highest (first violin). The second section begins at the climax (half-way point; extended pizzicato section) and slowly dissipates by subtracting instruments one by one as the register contracts to only the highest. The second movement does the same thing, but begins with the highest register (first violin solo) and ends with the lowest (cello solo). In all of the sections, as the register expands and/or contracts, so do other musical elements or parameters such as density, rhythmic activity, etc. Final Days was premiered by The University of Akron New Music Group/Daedalus. It is published by C.F. Peters Corporation.
Year composed: 1988
Duration: 00:12:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:String Quartet
Instrumentation: 2 Violin, 1 Viola, 1 Cello