String Quartet
Allen Brings
About this work:
This is the string quartet I once swore I would never write. Although I had already written several quartets for other instruments as well as a string quintet and a string trio, I did not want to contribute yet another quartet for strings in a genre noted not only for its masterpieces but also for countless examples by composers who believed they ought to compose one when they ought not to have. In writing a string quartet there is nothing to hide behind. Writing one demands skill and imagination and explains why Haydn and Bartók succeeded so well and why Fauré humbly waited until the end of his life to attempt one even though he had already composed some of the finest chamber music of his time. In the four movements of my quartet a listener can find all of the basic elements recognizable in the music of the Western tradition though employing a language that I trust will be found both distinctive and personal. A listener will find here passages which expose themes of contrasting character that are then varied and developed. But, above all, I hope that he will become aware of a kind of continuity that is maintained throughout despite apparent interruptions—even between the movements themselves, a continuity that he may discover persists in his subconscious after the last sounds have physically decayed.
Score and parts available from Mira Music Associates. Contact: miramusic@aol.com
Version: 2 violins, viola, cello
Year composed: 2005
Duration: 00:18:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:String Quartet
Instrumentation: 2 Violin, 1 Viola, 1 Cello
Instrumentation notes: No unusual playing techniques required, yet both technically and musically demanding.