String Quartet (Crawford-Seeger)
Encyclopedia
Ruth Crawford's String Quartet (1931) is "regarded as one of the finest modernist works of the genre" (Hisama 2001, p.4). The composition
or piece
is in four untitled movements.
), and others', the third movement is a sound mass
composition in which a single composite melody line consists of successive tones from the different instruments. This is accomplished through the equality of the instruments, indicated by their cramped register and the frequent vertical crossing
of their parts, legato bowing (with dotted slurs indicating preferably inaudible bow changes), and the gradual crescendos and decrescendos which are staggered among the instruments, meaning that one instrument is at its loudest while another is at its quietest. Each voice climbs over the top of the others as they move to the movement's highest dynamics, register, and climax, at which point they "break apart" or split into a four octave range created from triple-stops on all instruments. A performance in line with this reading is that of the Composers Quartet 1973 recording (Nonesuch H-71280). (Hisama 2001)
controlled second violin, viola, and cello, Voice II. (ibid)
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
or piece
Piece
Piece or pieces may refer to:* A single unit of something* An informative or creative work, such as a work of art, journalism, academic research, etc.** Musical piece, a work of music, sometimes called an opus* Chess piece* Jigsaw puzzle piece...
is in four untitled movements.
First Movement
The first movement is a fine example of twelve-tone study. Haunting melodies are interspersed with fragmented lines in all of the voice parts to create an almost schizophrenic range of emotions that seem to pile up upon one another. It's clear that the main focus of this movement is controlled soundplay, which is different for most listeners who are accustomed to a more "Western" melodic or harmonic structure and focus.Third Movement
According to Crawford's analysis (requested by Edgard VarèseEdgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
), and others', the third movement is a sound mass
Sound mass
In contrast to more traditional musical textures, sound mass composition "minimizes the importance of individual pitches in preference for texture, timbre, and dynamics as primary shapers of gesture and impact." Developed from the modernist tone clusters and spread to orchestral writing by the late...
composition in which a single composite melody line consists of successive tones from the different instruments. This is accomplished through the equality of the instruments, indicated by their cramped register and the frequent vertical crossing
Voice crossing
In music, voice crossing is the intersection of melodic lines in a composition, leaving a lower voice on a higher pitch than a higher voice...
of their parts, legato bowing (with dotted slurs indicating preferably inaudible bow changes), and the gradual crescendos and decrescendos which are staggered among the instruments, meaning that one instrument is at its loudest while another is at its quietest. Each voice climbs over the top of the others as they move to the movement's highest dynamics, register, and climax, at which point they "break apart" or split into a four octave range created from triple-stops on all instruments. A performance in line with this reading is that of the Composers Quartet 1973 recording (Nonesuch H-71280). (Hisama 2001)
Fourth Movement
The fourth movement features a lyrical and free first violin, Voice I, contrasted with the ten tone rowTone row
In music, a tone row or note row , also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets are sometimes found.-History and usage:Tone rows are the basis of...
controlled second violin, viola, and cello, Voice II. (ibid)
Source
- Hisama, Ellie M. (2001). Gendering Musical Modernism: The Music of Ruth Crawford, Marion Bauer, and Miriam Gideon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64030-X.