Violin

Holly Huelskamp, Sam Moraes, Carolina Neves, Sophia Han

Viola

Amy Greenhalgh, Victoria Voumard, Carolina Neves

Cello

Ranya Iqbal, Tara Santiago

Bass

Adam Anello

Gustav Holst

 (1874-1934)

St. Paul's Suite, Op. 29, No. 2 (1913)

Jig

Ostinato

Intermezzo

Finale

Best known for his extraordinary orchestral suite The Planets, British composer Gustav Holst composed an impressive opus of high quality works ranging from choral pieces to suites for military band.  His Romantic writing style drew on many influences, but his later music increasingly gravitated to folk song.  His life’s work, however, was teaching music whereas composing occurred in his spare time.  One of his longest held posts was at the St. Paul’s School for Girls in Hammersmith, England and his utterly charming St. Paul’s Suite was written between 1912 and 1913 for his student orchestra there.  Immediately, we hear Holst’s love of British folk song.

The first movement begins with a robust “jig” in alternating 6/8 and 9/8 time. Holst then introduces a contrasting theme, then skilfully develops and blends the two. The “ostinato,” marked presto, opens with a figure played by the second violins which continues throughout the movement. Then a solo viola introduces a principal theme. In the “Intermezzo” a solo violin introduces the theme over pizzicato chords, and the solo viola joins the violin in a duet.  After an animated section the original melody is again heard, now performed by a quartet of soloists. Finally, the folksong “Dargason” is introduced very softly, and the cellos enter playing the beautiful “Greensleeves”.  The two folksongs are played together to end the suite.

Program notes by Max Derrickson

Jessie Montgomery

 (b. 1981)

Strum (2012)

Strum is the culminating result of several versions of a string quintet I wrote in 2006. It was originally written for the Providence String Quartet and guests of Community MusicWorks Players, then arranged for string quartet in 2008 with several small revisions. In 2012 the piece underwent its final revisions with a rewrite of both the introduction and the ending for the Catalyst Quartet in a performance celebrating the 15th annual Sphinx Competition.

Originally conceived for the formation of a cello quintet, the voicing is often spread wide over the ensemble, giving the music an expansive quality of sound. Within Strum I utilized texture motives, layers of rhythmic or harmonic ostinati that string together to form a bed of sound for melodies to weave in and out. The strumming pizzicato serves as a texture motive and the primary driving rhythmic underpinning of the piece. Drawing on American folk idioms and the spirit of dance and movement, the piece has a kind of narrative that begins with fleeting nostalgia and transforms into ecstatic celebration.

Program notes by Jessie Montgomery

Edward Elgar

 (1857-1934)

Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 20 (1892)

Allegro piacevole

Larghetto

Allegretto

Known primarily as a composer of choral and orchestral works, Sir Edward Elgar was noted for being the first British composer since Purcell to gain international status. The son of a provincial piano tuner, church organist and music shop owner, the young Elgar aspired to greatness as a musician, first as a violinist. When a career as a virtuoso failed to develop, he devoted himself to musical composition and conducting, working his way from leading amateur musical societies to the great ensembles of the world. Largely self-taught, he began composing by taking his notebook down to the Severn River to record the “singing of the reeds.” Indeed, much of his music is imbued with the atmosphere of the natural world. The Serenade for Strings may have had its genesis as a group of three pieces composed in 1888 for the Worchestershire Musical Union, a women’s orchestra that he led. The manuscript of this piece has been lost, but four years later in May of 1892, Elgar completed the charming Serenade for Strings (which some believe was a reworking of the earlier pieces) for his wife Alice on the occasion of their third wedding anniversary. Referring to his wife, who throughout their married life was a great inspiration to his creativity, he said, “[she] helped a great deal to make these little tunes.” While the composer went on to become famous for his larger, more complex works, this early piece remained one of his favorites throughout his life.

Though brief, the Serenade is a delight and shows the composer’s early mastery of writing for strings. The lilting first theme – marked “piacevole” (Italian for pleasing or agreeable) – is introduced by a gentle insistent motive by the violas; the second movement, Larghetto, is heartfelt, elegiac, the melody shaped by what became known as a characteristic Elgarian seventh– a melodic pattern rising, pausing, then falling. The final brief movement returns to the spirit of the opening, including calling upon the violas to introduce the closing section.

Program notes by Linda Mack

Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685-1750)

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048 (1718)

[Allegro]

Adagio

Allegro

On March 24, 1721, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) dedicated six “concertos with several instruments” to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg. The dedication offers a bit of insight into the social position occupied by one of Europe’s most talented composers during his lifetime. The Margrave had apparently shown an interest in Bach’s music at a previous meeting and asked to see some of the composer’s work. Bach obsequiously obliged, writing, “I have then in accordance with Your Highness’ most gracious orders taken the liberty of rendering my most humble duty to Your Royal Highness with the present concertos, which I have adapted to several instruments; begging Your Highness most humbly not to judge their imperfection with the rigor of the fine and delicate taste that the whole world knows Your Highness has for musical pieces; but rather to infer from them in benign consideration the profound respect and the most humble obedience that I try to show Your Highness therewith.” (No wonder there was a French Revolution!)

Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, as they have come to be known because of their dedicatee, are among the most perfect examples of the Baroque concerto that we have today. Few works in the history of music match their tireless invention, their colorful instrumentation, or the tremendous demands they make on performers.

The Third Concerto, for nine solo strings (three each of violins, violas, and cellos) and continuo, opens majestically, with the soloists grouped by instrument (the violins play one figure, the violas another, and the cellos a third). As the movement progresses, these divisions hold for the most part, although there are moments of independence for each of the soloists. The closing movement, a vigorous allegro, follows the pattern of the opening, with the nine players divided again by instrument. The two outer movements are separated by a two-note adagio cadence, during which Bach intended the musicians to improvise a link between the two sections of the concerto.

Program notes by John Mangum

Formed by members of the St. Louis community, Holly, Amy, and Ranya bring together musical experiences from around the world. The STL Chamber Soloists perform music without a conductor, and work collectively and democratically. This often lends itself to dynamic and innovative interpretations of music old and new.

The STL Chamber Soloists' founding members have individual and unique musical experiences that have taken them across the world, from the USA to South America, Europe, and Asia. The depth of understanding gained by living and working in a different culture, and in a different language is evident in the performances of the STL Chamber Soloists. Their Beethoven has sampled ale in Bonn. Their Piazzolla has danced in the streets of Buenos Aires. And their Walton has climbed the rolling hills of England.

But most important to the STL Chamber Soloists is the sense of community and inclusivity. The STL Chamber Soloists employ excellent local musicians, and compensate them at a rate equal to their decades of training. As a result, performances are polished and entertaining.