Intonation is one of the most important issues facing performers of string quartets. Often, string students learn to play in tune strictly in terms of their own melodic line. To play in tune in a string quartet requires an understanding of the underlying harmony and how intonation can be fluid and flexible in an ensemble. This paper offers students an introduction to harmonic intonation and provides exercises to put this knowledge into practice. The text begins with instruction and exercises related to perfect intervals, which form the basis for intonation. Next, consonant intervals are discussed along with exercises for practice and ear training. Chords are constructed and practiced upon the basis of this interval practice. Student quartets are then asked to play excerpts from the repertoire presented as harmonic reductions and as originally written in order to connect the theoretical knowledge to the string quartet repertoire. Finally, chorales by J.S. Bach arranged for string quartet are provided for continuing practice of intonation in tonal harmony. It is not the attempt of this project to teach music theory or present a comprehensive study of the many issues and challenges related to intonation in string quartet playing. The aim of this essay is to provide students with a solid foundation and practical application of basic principles of playing in tune in a string quartet.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (A.Mus.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A. Adviser: Donna A. Buchanan. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-144) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Composed for the JACK Quartet during their Spring residency at BU during the week of Febuary 19-23, 2018. Recorded at the BU Concert Hall on Febuary 21, 2018. Composed between September 2016 - February 2018. duration: approx. 30 min. “ ccidentall , r’s finger touches Ch e’s, their feet, under the table, happen to against each other. W might be eng by the mean of these accidents; e might concentrate ph on these slight zones of contact and d l t in this fragm nt of inert finger or f , fet i tically, without concern for the re- sponse (like od——as t etym y of the word t lls us——the Fe does not reply). But in fact erthe is not pe e, he is in lov : h creates meaning, al ays and ev ry here, out of nothing, a it is meaning wh th ll im: is in crucible of meaning. Every contact, f r t lover, raises qu st on of n answer: the skin s asked to reply. “ Quand mon doigt par mégarde… ” (A squeeze of the hand——enormous documentation——a tiny gesture within the palm, a knee which doesn’t move away, an arm extended, as if quite naturally, along the back of a sofa and against which the other’s head gradu- ally comes to rest——this is the paradisiac realm of subtle and clandestine signs: a kind of festival not of the senses but of meaning.) ” Roland Barthes, A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments

The String quartet, a representative genre in the chamber music, was emerged in the Pre-Classical era, a period that the trio sonata was about at end of its development. The musical characteristics of the string quartets and trio sonatas were closely connected. The present study centers on the transitional stylistic features of the two genres in order to classify the initial stage for the development of the string quartet. This research focuses on the analysis of works of the trio sonata and the string quartet which were written during the transitional period. The thesis consists of three main chapters, in addition to the introduction and conclusion. Chapter one discusses the background of the string chamber music in Pre-Classical era. Chapter two describes the development of the trio sonata from 1720 to 1770. Chapter three concentrates on the musical characteristics of early development of the string quartets. The works of the trio sonata in mid-eighteenth century had already been characterized by the treble-dominated homophonic texture. In addition, the viola replaced the basso continuo and the chordal texture in the inner voices that led to the result in the change of the texture of trio sonata to the string quartet. The emergence of plentiful social occasions in Pre-Classical era required a large number of the chamber music. The string quartets were brought during this crucial moment. The composers at this stage tried a variety of tastes of styles and eventually, the mixed characteristics evolved into a natural, elegance, balanced, and symmetrical style and led the string quartet to its maturity.

The string quartet is one of the most important genre since the Classical period, especially beginning with the works of Joseph Haydn. The abundance of quantity and internal proficiency of the string quartet reach its highest point in late period of Beethoven¡¦s work. A few composers treated the string quartets as priority genre in their entire creative life before Bartók composed a series of six string quartets which included his musical thoughts and spiritual progression spreading in the different stages during his lifetime. The purpose of the study is to discuss the various characteristics in every stage creative processes and techniques of Bartók¡¦s string quartets. The discussion of this thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter one the background of twentieth-century such as global influence of politics, economy, arts activity. During the wars, Bartók concentrated on folk songs that is the most powerful change his career and influenced the way he composed. The discussions of the chapter two include the intergrade and combine folk songs of the Western traditional music and East Europe which occupied his great creative changes, and the differences of traditional string instruments usage. Chapter three elaborates the content of six quartets which is the manipulation of the logical and unity of Bartók¡¦s use of motive, theme, melody, interval, harmony or instrumental usage. Furthermore, a popular topic called golden section is introduced from those integral elements. Chapter four concludeds the study with the discussion of which the composer was under the influence of the music development in Hungary and his contribution to the history of western music. Not only Bartók¡¦s six string quartets are one of the most important works in twentieth-century string literature, but also they are continuation of Beethoven¡¦s late six string quartets. Bartók devoted himself to musical materials from Western and Eastern Europe. As this point of view, Bartók¡¦s six string quartets are the finest expression of his heart. No matter what composition skills he used or as a humanism, it is no doubt that Béla Bartók made his great contribution in the field of string quartets.

An original composition in one movement for a chamber octet comprised of a string quartet and a jazz piano quartet with tenor saxophone. The work develops an idée fixe, introduced in the opening bars, through a wide variety of transformations, textures, and styles. The two quartets begin in antiphonal alteration, united in thematic material, yet separated by style. A modern art music style contrasts with an improvisational jazz style. Gradually, the two quartets, and their concomitant musics, bleed into one another, breaking down stylistic boundaries. In the conclusion of the work, the idée fixe, the supplementary themes, and the two quartets coalesce into an organic sonic whole.

Nigel (Henry) Butterley (b. 1935) is recognised as one of Australia??s foremost contemporary composers. His works span most compositional genres. By making a case for the value of sketch study in the process of musical analysis, the principal purpose of this thesis is to augment understanding of Butterley??s music and in particular, his compositional processes and procedures through the various stages of the genesis of a composition, from the sketch to final score. Butterley??s string quartets, composed between the years 1965 to 2001 provide the basis for this study; these works are contextualised and examined to illustrate his approach to composition in microcosm and also his individual style within the genre of string quartet writing. This study focuses on the examination of preliminary sketches, drafts and holographs, as well as the scores of the completed works. Initially, analysis is based on preliminary sketches; this will be augmented by a formal analysis of the completed works. Traditionally, formal analysis deals with the final product, something that has been created, and in a sense, views a work retrospectively. Sketch study, in contrast, examines the work as it is being created and is concerned with the attendant compositional issues and choices available to the composer and the processes followed as he or she creates the composition. The current work will identify significant common features in all the string quartets, and will trace Butterley??s compositional trajectory through these works demonstrating that individual characteristics of Butterley??s style, emergent as early as 1965, continued to be utilised in 1995 and remain present in the Bagatelle of 2001. That these characteristics remain present in a minut?? is significant, in that the Bagatelle may be seen as a microcosm of the writing style evident in his larger works. This thesis will demonstrate that sketch study and formal analysis may interact in order to provide a more comprehensive interpretation of a composer??s work and enrich the understanding and appreciation of the compositional process and the final product, ultimately impacting on the realisation of a composer??s work through performance.

The aesthetic of this composition begins with a flurry of notes creating a wall of sound and slowly disintegrates into becoming something light and airy. Beginning is dense and hurried with overlapping entrances, in the beginning I aim to achieve an overall effect of very smooth and natural slowing down. It feels rhythmic but the pulse is somewhat ambiguous. There are chains of flurried notes followed by rests in the individual parts but the rests are hidden by the overlapping entrances so it feels continuous. As holes open in the texture and the slowing down process takes effect, fragments of a melody begin to peak out of the texture and melt back in. Eventually the piece has completely slowed down and the full melody is revealed. This then builds into a climactic high point of the melody played in the cello. Throughout the ending, fragments of the beginning texture fade in and out until one final build up resembling the beginning texture. There is then a flurry of notes that then proceed to do the slowing down process of the beginning but within a much quicker timespan and then the piece closes out on the final chord of that process.