Haydn Op 42, 4th Mvt, Presto
Shostakovitch Quartet No 6, Op 101, 3rd Mvt, Lento
Dvořák Quartet No 12 The "American", Op 96, 4th Mvt, Vivace ma non troppo
Mozart Quartet KV 590, 2nd Mvt, Allegretto
Bach Brandenberg No 3 BWV 1048
The concert will be a 'tasting menu' of musical styles arranged (with the exception of the first piece) in reverse order of composition. We will open with Haydn in recognition of his role as the effective inventor of the string quartet. Opening with Haydn also honours our own practice at rehearsals. After the first piece we will be travelling back in time, in four steps, from the mid 20th century to the early 18th.
Haydn Op 42, 4th Mvt, Presto
Haydn, as has already been mentioned, was the father of the string quartet. You can play quartets your whole life and still find surprise and delight in one you don't know by Haydn. The movement we have chosen is from a quartet written in 1784 which is short and sweet.
Шостако́вич Quartet No 6, Op 101, 3rd Mvt, Lento
By the mid 20th century many composers had thrown out the rule book for composition. Shostakovitch, in contrast, retained much of the tonal romantic tradition and incorporated an eclectic mix of other musical influences.
This approach has entranced and infuriated people in almost equal numbers. The quartet from which this movement is taken was written on his honeymoon (with his second wife) in 1956. It was written after the death of his friend Prokoviev (and Stalin on the same day) and after the sudden and unexpected death of his first wife.
The quartet as a whole is a complex work, but the third movement that we have chosen is gentle and melodic. It has something of the character of a passsacaglia which is a form Shostakovitch used often, although in the very 'dark' key of B flat minor.
Dvořák Quartet No 12 The "American", Op 96, 4th Mvt, Vivace ma non troppo
This quartet was written in 1893 and finished in just two weeks while on holiday in Iowa. It was a happy period in Dvořák's life and he overcame his previous difficulty in writing a string quartet and wrote "Thank God! I am content. It was fast." on the score when he had finished. The last movement is a pentatonic rondo and a simple unselfconscious joy.
Mozart Quartet KV 590, 2nd Mvt, Allegretto
To represent the classical period we have chosen Mozart and a movement from one of a set of quartets commisioned by the King of Prussia. Written in 1790 Mozart never delivered or dedicated the commision, possibly because the King never handed over the promised fee. Instead he had the music engraved at his own expense but died before it was published.
The movement we have chosen floats on a cushion of triplets and has more space than music in it. If we get it right this is going to sound great in the church.
Bach Brandenberg No 3 BWV 1048
The 'third Brandenberg' is about as famous as any piece of music gets. It was written in nine parts (3 violins, 3 violas, and 3 cellos) plus continuo, but here we are using a four part arrangement; Bach would have undoubtedly approved as he was always re-using and re-arranging his music for different purposes with different instrumental combinations.
The Brandenburg Concertos form a set of orchestral pieces dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt and presented to him in 1721 (although containing a great deal of material composed much earlier) and they were possibly put together as part of a job application.