String Quartet No. 7 (Simpson)
- String Quartet No. 7 (Simpson)
The String Quartet No. 7 by Robert Simpson was composed during 1977 and was dedicated to Lady Jeans (Susi Jeans, the organist) who requested the work. The Gabrieli String Quartet gave the first performance at a concert in Jeans’ home, Cleveland Lodge, Dorking, during a concert celebrating the centenary of her husband, the astronomer and mathematician Sir James Jeans. Simpson, himself a keen astronomer, draws parallels between this work and the universe – quiet and mysterious yet pulsating with energy. This quartet has become one of the most frequently heard of Simpson’s quartets.Fact|date=July 2008
The work falls into three distinct sections albeit in one movement. The opening section is marked Tranquillo, and begins quietly with the first violin sounding the note D which is joined by an upward moving line. By this means the vastness of space is evoked, and this whole first section develops slowly but purposefully in an organic way. Simpson likened the control of the music throughout this quartet to gravitation in space, particularly in regards to the open strings of the instruments, all of which are tuned in fifths.Fact|date=July 2008
The second section is a Vivace of around the same length, and from this point onwards the music becomes steadily more vigorous and energetic, with running triplet lines and further development of the material of the opening section. This Vivace culminates in a huge, intense climax which is the climax of the whole work – this restates the opening idea in a very different context and heralds the beginning of the final section, marked Tempo Primo.
Eventually the climax subsides, and the tranquillity of the opening is returned, now with the addition of rising scales among the counterpoint which give the effect of the music floating into space as it fades into silence.
A typical performance of this work lasts 18 to 20 minutes.
Discography
Currently, the only commercially available CD is a Hyperion Records release which also includes String Quartet No. 8, both performed by the Delme Quartet . [Andrew Jacksons, " [http://members.aol.com/dmlovelock/simpson_recordings.htm Recordings and Reviews of Simpson's Works] . Accessed 5 July 2008]
References
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
String Quartet No. 9 (Simpson) — The String Quartet No. 9 by Robert Simpson was composed in 1982 in response to a request by the Delme String Quartet for a work to mark the dual occasion of the 20th anniversary of their quartet and the 250th anniversary of the birth of Haydn.… … Wikipedia
String Quartet No. 8 (Simpson) — The String Quartet No. 8 by Robert Simpson was composed in 1979 in response to a commission by the Brunel Philharmonic Society with funds made available from the Greater London Arts Association. The work is dedicated to Professor Gillett, who was … Wikipedia
String Quartet No. 15 (Simpson) — The String Quartet No. 15 by Robert Simpson was composed quickly in the summer of 1991 and dedicated to the Vanbrugh QuartetFact|date=July 2008 who had developed growing association with Simpson s later chamber music. This work is cast in one… … Wikipedia
String quartet tribute — The String Quartet Tribute The String Quartet Tribute(SQT) : Produit par la maison de disque Vitamin Records. En hommage à certains chanteurs ou groupes musicaux, ce groupe propose une interprétation de leurs oeuvres par la formation… … Wikipédia en Français
List of string quartet composers — Born before 1800= *Giovanni Battista Sammartini (ca. 1700 ndash;1775): wrote several quartets though as with many early works for the medium some of these could be played equally by a small string orchestra. *Christian Cannabich (1731 ndash;1798) … Wikipedia
The String Quartet Tribute — ou SQT est un groupe de musique produit par la maison de disques Vitamin Records. En hommage à certains chanteurs ou groupes musicaux, ce groupe propose une interprétation de leurs œuvres par la formation classique d un quatuor à cordes. Les… … Wikipédia en Français
The String Quartet — The Vitamin String Quartet музыкальный коллектив из Лос Анджелеса, один из многочисленных проектов американской звукозаписывающей компании «Vitamin Records». Основатель Дэвид Хирл (David Haerle). Первым выпущенным альбомом стал The String… … Википедия
String quintet — A string quintet is a musical composition for a standard string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello) supplemented by a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so called viola quintet ) or a second cello (a cello quintet ), but… … Wikipedia
String trio — A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. The earliest string trio form consisted of two violins and cello, a grouping which had grown out of the baroque trio sonata.Since the early classical period … Wikipedia
Robert Simpson (composer) — Robert (Wilfred Levick) Simpson (2 March 1921 ndash; 21 November 1997) was an English composer and long serving BBC producer and broadcaster.He is best known for his orchestral and chamber music (including 11 symphonies and 15 string quartets),… … Wikipedia
