TGIF, Dec 26, 5:30pm
This Friday encounter the calming and vibrant music performed by the Atalaya String Quartet: String Quartet Open 11 and Tenebrae – version II for string quartet. Doors to the sanctuary open at 5:15pm and the concert begins at 5:30pm. The concert is free with donations accepted.
Program
String Quartet Opus 11 (1936) by Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981) – American Composer
Molto allegro e appassionato
Molto adagio
Allegro
Tenebrae-version II for string quartet (2002) by Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960) – Argentinian Composer
String Quartet Opus 11
The first movement of this amazing quartet has three thematic motifs, the first a dramatic passage first played in unison by all four instruments and then returns in a variety of forms that are characterized by fugue-like syncopation. The second motif is a beautiful chorale-like section and the third is a lyrical melody.
The second movement was rewritten for string orchestra as the well-known and beautiful “Adagio for Strings” and is indeed the centerpiece of this string quartet. Apparently, Barber had a difficult time with the final movement which he worked on over a period of several years. He finally settled on a reprise of the first movement, changing the key, adding a section that sounds purely chaotic, and ending with a passage that brings the whole piece to a final definitive end.
Tenebrae-version II for string quartet
Golijov describes this piece as being inspired by two experiences: seeing the earth as a “beautiful dot in space” at the New York City planetarium and witnessing violence in Israel. The title “Tenebrae” refers to a religious service held during the three days before Easter, during which there is a gradual extinguishing of candles and a loud noise in the total darkness at the end of the service.
The piece begins with the section “Majetic, celestial” with the viola playing a legato fluttering passage and the cello a slow, quiet bass melody with the violins entering as “a filament of light”. Several times in the first section, you will hear passages that are reminiscent of plaintive middle eastern music. The second section, “Ominous, Slow”, begins with one violin playing an intense, piercing solo while the other violin and the viola play arpeggios “as in Bach’s Chaconne”. An eerily quiet section follows in which the upper instruments are to play “like tropical frogs at night” and the cello plays a solo: “infinitely slow, but with melodic direction and energy, as an object in cosmic orbit”. The last section, “Yrushalem”, starts with the viola and cello as in the beginning and the violins enter with short, quiet “like prayer fragments”. The final emotional passage ends pianissimo.
Peter Glankoff & Julanna Gilbert, Violins
Ari Le, Viola
Robert Coombe, Cello
Atalaya String Quartet
The quartet describes themselves as four long-time Santa Fe residents who love making music together. Although they took different paths on their way to Santa Fe, each feels deeply engaged with the people and cultures of Northern New Mexico, and together express the simple joy of being Santa Feans through their music.