John McCabe

This Quartet was commissioned by the Delme String Quartet to whom it is dedicated. First performed by the Quartet London 1982. Duration 20 minutes. A Score is also available for sale.

Spielend for two violins was written during the summer and early autumn of 2003 and is based on the idea of the two instruments not only playing the instruments but also playing in the sense of sport i.e. playing their themes off against each other and playing with the musical material. There are times for instance when they seem to be having a contest to see who can finish the themes first or who can divert the other’s attention to a new texture or rhythm. The title the German word for 'playing' also refers in a way to the composer himself exploring the themes harmonies and rhythms - particularly notable in this respect is the large central slow section which contraststwo altered reminiscences of the Violin Sonata of Poulenc (a composer whose music is very dear to me) with the gradual expansion of a fugue from two parts to eight (four in each violin). Fugue after all is in a sense an example of a composer making sport however seriously with the themes.So the work is a kind of extended musical pun lasting about fifteen minutes in all and being performed without a break. Though the central section is slow the outer ones are quick and energetic emphasizing especially the idea of activity and vigour - the ending however may catch the unwary listener by surprise.The first performance was given by Philippa Mo and Peter Sheppard Skærved in Leighton House London on 7th May 2004.'John McCabe's new 'Spielend' strikes me as a miniature masterpiece: a highly charged 15-minute piece in which the violins chase or echo each other in a thousand different ways including a fugure in which as with Bach two instruments seemed to suggest a dozen voices.'            - Richard Morrison The Times 11/05/2004

This work was commissioned by the Verdehr Trio and funded by Michigan State University. Includes score and parts (the score in C). Duration: c. 18 minutes.

For SATB soli or semi-chorus and SATB chorus a cappella. I sing of a Maiden by John McCabe was commissioned by Liverpool Cathedral and first performed by the Choir of Liverpool Cathedral directed by David Poulter on 20th December 2008.

Hawk in Winter Light was inspired by the sight of a hawk circling obsessively on a bright November day hence the constantly circular nature of the music and especially its melodic material. Though the central section is quicker the underlying pulse remains the same and the transition to a quicker tempo is hardly noticeable. The piece is therefore and unusually for a brass quintet a single entity in which the outer sections are closely related the final part being partly a reprise and partly a variation of the opening.The piece was commissioned by the KlaraFestival of Flanders and is dedicated to Fine Arts Brass who gave its first performance during thefestival in Belgium on the 20 September 2005.

Erinnerung ('Remembering' or 'A Remembrance') was commissioned with the aid of funds provided by the RVW Trust for the Evelyn Barbirolli Memorial Concert at the Bridgewater Hall Manchester on 6th June 2009. The score is written with the Cor anglais line transposed.