Gwyneth Walker: 3 American Portraits: String Quartet: Score & Parts

for Six Violoncellos-These are three musical portraits of the sounds and images associated with trains. I. On Track is energetic focusing on the forceful rhythms of a train speeding down the tracks with the reiterated rhythmic patterns (wheels-on-tracks) passed from one cello to another and the more sustained whistle sounds floating above. II. Lonesome Whistle is a blues-oriented movement in a ballad idiom with a texture that is often solo versus accompaniment during the verse sections punctuated by refrains in a homophonic 'barbershop' style. The listener might hear refernce to Harold Arlen's Blues in the Night. III. Coming 'Round is a set of theme and variations on a well-known American train song. The six variations are entitled: Ornamentation Tango Lament Cowboy Sounds and Final Reprise.