Thea Musgrave: Green for twelve strings (Full Score)

Beskrivning

Commissioned by the Scottish Ensemble first performed on 15th December 2008 at Queen’s Cross Church, Aberdeen.

Programme note

"This short work is about conflict – expressed here by the clash of opposing musical forces. One ‘force’ an ‘arioso’ is based around the harmonic field of E and is  melodic, tonal, straightforward, and, at times, emotional. It is mainly led by the first  violin. The other ‘force’ led by the double bass, is strongly discordant [at first a  single note F later gradually growing to a giant cluster]. It is essentially chordal  [non-melodic], static, suffocating, inexorable and impersonal. Its only contrast is  getting louder or getting softer, getting denser, or less dense.

The interruption of the opening ‘arioso’ by a single note F on the double bass is at
first not very threatening and the reaction to it is one of surprise. Later as the threat
increases so the reaction becomes stronger: at first one of irritation, then anger. A
passionate outburst on the violins follows which falls on deaf ears. Then a solo
violin, solo viola and solo cello all appeal in turn: still no response. Finally only
fragments of the original ‘arioso’ are heard before dying away.

Whereas near the beginning of the work the F on the double bass was an intrusive
discord to the E of the ‘arioso’, now at the end a high lingering E on the solo viola [all that is left of the original ‘arioso’] is a discord to the giant cluster based on F.
Many parallels to this conflict can of course be drawn from real life. The title ‘Green’
for me represents either the freshness of youth, or for the plant life in our world on
which we all depend."

 - Thea Musgrave


Duration: circa 13 minutes

Instrumental parts are available on hire from the publisher"