string quartet no. 12

[David]

well, I've just completed a new string quartet. The opening movement was marked "dolente" before I even wrote a note, I think and the mood is reflective of the times we live in (as well as one or two personal things), though there is a more lively central section. By a piece of bizarre serendipity, the first violin section after inserting  the development was accidentally pushed back a bar or two and I liked the result so much, I decided to keep a long stretch of this "mistake" with some editing. The chromaticism becomes more extreme and the music at times seems almost becalmed.

The scherzo is somewhat ghostly and shadowy in places and the tension is finally released in the "dolce a molto espressivo" finale which is, I think, one of my more beautiful and heartfelt movements. Some who find my more chromatic language hard to stomach might possibly still enjoy this movement and this I posted it separately in the forum's music section. I'm not looking for specific critique on the work but am interested in whether those who some some sympathy with my idiom in the first place find the piece at all convincing as a whole and whether the structure of the first movement makes any sense.

The work in its entirety can be heard on Reelcrafter https://play.reelcrafter.com/dko22/chamberworks

score scherzo 01 - Full score - String quartet no. 12.pdf

[Gregory Michael Hodges]

David, this is a phenomenal work. I haven't listened to all of your string quartets, but of the ones I have, this is my favorite. I think the work is well-structured and well-crafted. The final movement is achingly beautiful. I wish I had written it! If you were trying to capture the mood of the present moment on planet Earth, I think you succeeded admirably. I will be listening to this again in the future to further explore its riches.

[David]

well, I can't ask for anything more than your wish you had written the last movement -- I'm sure you will go on to create something comparable in due course. I must admit that, unlike the first movement which was a bit of a struggle, the finale pretty well wrote itself over a weekend. I don't myself think it's my best balanced quartet -- I still regard the 1st string quintet as my best chamber work so far -- but your kind comments are most encouraging.

[HS Teoh]

I admit I had a hard time with the first 2 mvmts. The language is too foreign for my ears :-P (though I loved that descending glide that characterised the opening theme -- is that actually playable on a real instrument?). The last mvmt, though, spoke to me with its lyricism. Perhaps that's just my traditional harmony bias, I don't know, but it was beautifully satisfying at the end in spite of what was to me a difficult beginning. Glad I persisted to the end. :-P

[David]

I realised that some will find the chromaticism of the initial movements a bit much which is why I gave an easy way just to hear the last part on its own. Actually there will probably be those that prefer the opening movements but likely the minority on this forum. Anyway, it's much appreciated you managed to get all the way through in what must be rather unfamiliar terrain.

A slow string gliss like this should be playable enough (though on a real instrument sounding rather different as this is a pitch-bend manipulation rather than a sampled gliss) although that sort of thing is most effective with brass instruments.

[HS Teoh]

I had an ulterior motive in asking about the gliss: I envisioned this new idiom (which I tongue-in-cheek call the "real atonal", the lack of tones as in a sound of fixed pitch) where the music consists entirely of glides. Most contemporary instruments wouldn't work with that kind of idiom, but I thought unfretted string instruments, and perhaps trombones, would be ideal for that sort of thing. Otherwise the only other recourse would be synthesizers.