Scherzo for String Quartet

Allerheiligentag Iii. Par LINJAMA JYRKI. Jyrki Linjama's second string quartet (2018) is subtitled Allerheiligentag III. The material for the Allerheiligentag cycle is a Finnish folk chorale for All Saints' Day (no. 146 in the Finnish Hymn Book). The first work in the cycle is a string trio (2007), the second a piece for orchestra (2009), and the fourth and fifth are solo works for viola da gamba and violin.The composer tells: “The choice of topic and material for the string trio was originally prompted by the venue at which it was to be premiered: the old church on the island of Seili (Själö). The bleak history of the island's leper and mental hospital evoked images of suffering and death. I got so attached to the harsh and beautiful melody that it began to generate a whole cycle.” The string quartet is in three movements (slow-quick-slow) tensed in different ways by contrasts. The first movement has both swinging softness and cutting sharpness, the Scherzo the wildness of a dance of death and lyricism, and the finale the irrevocability of a funeral march and tender melodiousness./ Répertoire / String Quartet

Strygekvartetsats (Italiensk Scherzo) / Movement For String Quartet (Italian Scherzo) BVN 408 dating from 1950 by Rued Langgaard. Critical Edition by Bendt Viinholt Nielsen / The Rued Langgaard Edition.

Commissioned by the Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited with funds provided by the Arts Council of Wales for premiere in August 2012 by the Carducci String Quartet in St. Andrew?s Church Presteigne.Composer's Note.'Some years ago I noted down the opening theme of what I anticipated would be a relatively Classical string quartet ?Classical? in the sense of the forms adopted plus perhaps a predominantly lyrical tone of voice. The commission for this work from the Presteigne Festival for their 30th anniversary in 2012 gave me the opportunity of putting into practice this long-held idea. It isdedicated to the Festival and to the Carducci Quartet whose career as much-admired friends and colleagues I have greatly enjoyed.The only break with ?classical? tradition is that there are five movements instead of four with two Scherzi as the second and third though both these are very short and contrasting. I found myself listening to Haydn?s string quartets a lot before and during the composition of this work and I hope the spirit of his delight in writing for this medium is echoed in my own music. The opening movement is in sonata form unusually for me and lyricism is I hope the basis of it though there is a good deal of activity at times. The Scherzo light and marked by frequently-changing rhythms is followed by an equally short but ferocious Perpetuum mobile marked Wild und rasch (one of my favourite German tempo markings). The fourth movement is an intense Adagio in which a single phrase uttered strongly in unison is gradually transformed into gentle diatonic chords before the close intermingled with cadenzas for cello for viola and for the two violins together. The finale (a Rondo) resumes the classical tone of the first movement but apart from one dance-like episode it builds up a fair head of steam towards a final Presto which however ascends slows and quietens towards a gentle summer sky at dusk.'

Study Score No. 63-Bloch was 73 years old when the String Quartet No. 3 was premiered in 1953 by the Griller Quartet. It is far more 'pared-down' than his earlier works and avoids the influence of Jewish music which he was well-known for in works such as 'Schelomo' and the 'Suite Hebraique for viola'. The first movement is forceful; trills and stark rhythms predominate whereas the second is more tranquil. Next there is is a strange kind of off-kilter scherzo followed by a finale based on a 12-tone theme. This is the Schirmer edition of the Score.

Instrumentation : string quartet Version : study score Contenu : I. Introduzione. Andante espressivo-Allegro - II. Scherzo. Presto-Intermezzo - III. Adagio - IV. Presto Nombre de pages : 52 Collection : Eulenburg Miniature Scores Format : ETP small