Chorale Quartet
2nd string quartet
String Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

String Quartet - difficult - Digital Download

SKU: S9.Q6173

2nd string quartet. Composed by Joerg Widmann. This edition: score and parts. Downloadable, Score and parts. Duration 16 minutes. Schott Music - Digital #Q6173. Published by Schott Music - Digital (S9.Q6173).

My 2nd string quartet is one single slow movement. The piece does not directly reflect Joseph Haydn's "Seven Last Words" but I would not have been able to write it without knowing that work. The movements in Haydn's quartets (except the final earthquake) are slow movements of shocking forcefulness. What makes the work even more unsettling for me is the relaxed and cheerful acceptance of death (the 'smile' of the A major pizzicato thirds!). When I made myself familiar with the subject matter of crucifixion I discovered that terms like 'walking' and 'the last walk' were most important to me. My piece starts at the final stage of this experience. It contains a number of lost sounds, phrases of futility which come from nowhere and lead to nowhere. The horrifying rubbing and sanding of skin and wood become the 'theme’ of the piece which is combined with tonal, choral-like melodies. I am interested in how to make noises no longer symbolize desolation and tonal phrases no longer represent confidence. - Jörg Widmann

Comme ceux de son professeur Wolfgang Rihm, les cinq quatuors à cordes de Jörg Widman se présentent sous forme de courtes études. Si on les exécute séparément, l'idée centrale technique et esthétique de chacun d'eux se retrouve au premier plan. Exécutés en cycle, ils se rapprochent en revanche de la forme classique en plusieurs mouvements.