Silhouette (string quartet)

The title of this work, Silhouette, is taken from Gottry's idea to create a short piece in the style of Mozart or Haydn, but certainly not an exact picture.

Program Notes

The title of this work, Silhouette, is taken from my idea to create a short piece in the style of Mozart or Haydn, but certainly not an exact picture. Set in a moderate 2/4 time and opening with the primary melodic statement in cello, the piece develops quickly into a canon as a new voice enters every eight bars. After a brief interlude of trading sixteenth notes between voices, the original statement returns for development before moving into a contrasting 3/8 section. An accompanimental ostinato is established in the lower voices over which the upper voices play in thirds. This new idea is taken over by the lower voices as the upper parts accompany with sixteenth-note arpeggiated figures. The original material returns via another interlude for a final statement and brief coda.

Grade Level: 4
Copyright: 2012
Number of Players: 4
Duration: 2:45
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Type: Quartet
Category: String

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Instrumentation

Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello