Peter Maxwell Davies

The string parts for Peter Maxwell Davies’ fourth in a series of ten string quartets commissioned by the Naxos Recording company.

This work was a test piece for the International string Quartet competition in 2005 Premio Paulo Borciani It was inspired by a keyboard piece of the same name A Sad Paven for these Distracted Tymes by Thomas Tomkins(1572-1656). Tomkins had a long association with Worcester Cathedral where he was organist - appointed magister choristarum in 1596 - and lived within the precincts until shortly before his death. At the same time he wasorganist of the Chapel Royal. When the city of Worcester surrendered to Cromwell's parliamentary forces in 1646 Tomkins had to watch the hasty dismantling of his cathedral organ and the abolition of all choral services. Thesewere the 'distracted tymes' of the 'sad paven' which he wrote in enforced retirement at Worcester.

This work was commissioned by the Naxos Recording Company and is the eighth in a series of ten quartets. It was first performed on 10th March 2006 by the Maggini Quartet at St. Gregory’s Centre Canterbury Christ ChurchUniversity Canterbury as part of the Sounds New Festival.Naxos Quartet No. 8 is dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen on her 80th birthday.

The Full Score for Peter Maxwell Davies’ fourth in a series of ten string quartets commissioned by the Naxos Recording company first performed by the Maggini Quartet on 20th August 2004 at the Chapel of the Royal Palace Oslo Norway as part of the Olso Chamber Music Festival. Composer Note: The fourth Naxos quartet was written in January and February of 2004 with the intention of producing something lighter and much less fierce than itspredecessor an unpremeditated and spontaneous reaction to the illegal invasion of Iraq.I returned to the well-known Brueghel picture of children's games (1560 now in Vienna) which had been the inspiration for my sixthStrathclyde Concerto for flute and orchestra. These illustrations liberated my musical imagination but I feel it would limit the listener's perception to be too specific about which game relates to exactly which section of thework. Suffice it to say that there is vigorous play - leap-frog bind the devil with a cord truss wrestling - alongside quieter pastimes - masks guess whom I shall choose courting odds and evens. The single movementjuxtaposes these activities as abruptly and intimately as they occur in Brueghel. Rather as the eye is taken into different perspectives and proportions of scale within the picture taking liberties which would never be presentin for instance Brunelleschi architectural drawings so here with a constant sequence of transformation processes I have distorted the neat precise implications of modal progression expressed in the unison opening phrase(from F to B through A sharp/B flat) so that the ear is led en route into the sound equivalents of strange passageways and closed rooms: sicut exposition ludus. As work on the quartet progressed I became aware that Iwas reading into and behind the games adult motives and implications concerning aggression and war with their consequences. It was impossible to escape into innocent childhood fantasy. The nature of the F to B

The second of the Quartets commissioned by the Naxos label was completed in January 2003. This work swings between nervous virtuosic energy to the serene calm of an extended Lento with exotic harmonies reminiscent of Bartok andis characterised by it's sharp and unpredictable contrasts. First performed by the Maggini Quartet on 11 July 2003 at the Pittville Pump Room Cheltenham as part of the Cheltenham International Festival. This is the set ofparts. A miniature score of the piece is available catalogue number CH66594.

The first in a series of Ten quartets commissioned by the Naxos recording company. First performed at Wigmore Hall London in Oct 2002 by the Maggini Quartet. A convenient miniature-sized version of the score intended for study.Performance parts are available available: CH65648-01

This work was commissioned by the Naxos Recording Company and is the eighth in a series of ten quartets. It was first performed on 10th March 2006 by the Maggini Quartet at St. Gregory’s Centre Canterbury Christ ChurchUniversity Canterbury as part of the Sounds New Festival.Naxos Quartet No. 8 is dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen on her 80th birthday.