First Light - for string quartet and English horn

[Lennart Östman]

This is the opening track from my latest album, Music for tired Preachers. It’s a suite that has the string quartet and the English horn as a thematic thread. Sometimes together and sometimes with an orchestra.

https://soundcloud.com/lennartostman/english-horn-quintet-andante

[Jan-Frederik Carl]

Hello Lennart,

it cloaks itself in a nice, may I say, "baroque", atmosphere. The tension is never lost. Seeing the score would definitely be interesting.

Kind regards,

Jan

[Colin Dougall]

Hi Lennart

It is a pleasant enough piece as it stands, but I think the horn is hiding too much in the background. To my mind it should have a stronger melodic presence than it currently has and should "boss" the strings a bit more.

Thanks, Colin.

[Lennart Östman]

Thanks Jan-Fredrik and Colin! This is the first piece I’ve written for English horn so I guess I did hold back a little and made all the instruments equal players.

[michael diemer]

Very soothing. A somewhat unusual showcasing of the English Horn, which typically is presented in more somber modes, but I think it succeeds.

Re: Colin's remark, it may be difficult to judge this in a midi realization. The EH is such a penetrating instrument, and it may be that Lennart has got it right. But again, these are some of the things that a live performance could shed more light on. 

[Lennart Östman]

It is also to some extent my personal style to treat every part as equally important. That can be found in all of my music.

[Lennart Östman]

And thank you michael for you comments!