Concerto string quartet

Score-This work is a free adaptation of a Handel Concerto Grosso the only one of that composer's Opus Six collection that does not have a solo concertino (small group of soloists contrasting with the larger orchestra). Here thecomposer provides the solo forces in the form of a String Quartet.

Cheryl Frances-Hoad's The Dreams That Fly from Me for solo String Quartet and String Orchestra. Score. 'The Dreams That Fly From Me is a ten minute work for solo string quartet and string orchestra. It is in two movements (one slow one fast) that are played without a break. I spent ten years at the Yehudi Menuhin School (a specialist music school for string and piano) growing up so this piece cannot help but be strongly influenced by the music I played in the school orchestra during this time. In particular the work is influenced by Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro Strauss’s Metamorphosen (fortwenty-three solo strings) and Tippett’s Concerto for Double String Orchestra although the harmonic language of the piece (which is essentially very jazzy) helps to obscure these musical references. In terms of extra musical inspiration the work was inspired by a poem by Ivan Goll called Bloodhound which includes the lines “Catch the dreams that fly off from me.... And savage the ankles of my fleeting angel” I was inspired by the idea of a “fleeting angel” which at a time when I had been having difficulties composing seemed very poignant: the angel of the poem seemed to be a poetic representation of my inspiration. The Dreams That Fly From Me was premiered by the Szymanowsky Quartet and the Northern Sinfonia (Bradley Creswick director) at Hovingham Hall on the 28th July 2013 as part of the 2013 Ryedale Festival.' - Cheryl Frances-Hoad

String Quartet No.1 - 'Quartetto Breve' (1952) by Per NørgÃ¥rd.Programme note:  The spectrum of sound the gesticulation – in short the very nature of the strings – has always had a central place in my output demonstrated by the numbers of string quartets concertos with string soloist chamber and solo works. The interest dates back to my school years when I was fortunate to be able to compose for a cello-playing schoolmate and to accompany him on the piano. I discovered then the innumerable nuances of sound and playing varieties offered by just one bow four strings andfive fingers..  My first string quartet – Quartetto Breve – has a firm root in the Nordic tradition and is strongly inspired by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) and my teacher Vagn Holmboe (1909-96).  Per NørgÃ¥rd (1998) 

Composed between 1973 and 1976  Ainsi La Nuit for String Quartet is one of the most important works of its genre by Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013) a French composer following the paths of Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. Commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation for the Juilliard Quartet  Ainsi La Nuitis based on a series of studies lasting 18 minutes and divided into 7 sections: 1. Nocturne 2. Miroir d'espace 3. Litanies 4. Litanies II 5. Constellations 6. Nocturne II 7. Temps suspendu Built on single hexachords it also uses theoctatonic mode and focuses on harmonies contrasts and oppositions of register. Henri Dutilleux was internationally acclaimed for his work winning prizes such as the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society and the UNESCO's International Rostrum of Composers among many others. His work also includes a Piano sonata two symphonies the Violin concerto 'L'arbre des songes' (The tree of dreams) and the Cello concerto 'Tout un monde lointain' (A whole distant world).