A Second Movement For My String Quartet

[artlowell]

I found writing for a string quartet to be surprisingly difficult. But, I'm not unhappy with it.

(The first movement is also posted on my main Soundcloud page).

https://soundcloud.com/artlowell/string ... d-movement

[Googly Smythe]

This is a serious piece of music, and deserves some serious listening. Thanks for allowing downloads so that I can do just that!

[artlowell]

thanks for listening, Googly. I think this quartet music is the hardest stuff I've chosen to write. I've very happy that some people like it. I should be able to manage a 3rd movement in a month or two. There have been some great ones written that I might get some ideas from.

[thomekk]

Impressive!

So it has to be:
Permanent changing, moderated figures transforming into the next moody state and the next
- tied up altogether. Best listening-entertainment.

Thanks for this

[fastlanephil]

I listened to your String Quartet. It sounds like you are working with impressionism. It's a classical genre I like as it's edgy but not too disjointed. Over all I enjoyed this music. I can tell there has been a lot of work put into this. If your not satisfied with it then perhaps you need to rework it until you feel it says what you intended. Composing in any genre is a little inspiration and a lot of perspiration as they say. You can always leave it and go onto something else and come back to it after after being refreshed.

[artlowell]

Thanks for listening, Phil. I didn't start out with the first movement being at all impressionistic, but with the second, a slower, quieter movement, I couldn't seem to help channeling the Ravel.

What I find so difficult with quartet music is the limited range of sonorities. With just basically 3 instruments, all with similar sounds, it's a bit like trying to paint a picture with just 3 shades of the same color. Also, the 4 basically solo instruments are so exposed that the form is very unforgiving. You just can't get away with as much as with a full orchestra. I think I spent more time and effort dealing with the DAW and the "vsts" than I did with the actual music. Sound engineering isn't my strong point.

Thanks to you, also, Thom.

[davidstiles]

As always, this is very nicely written, Art! It definitely takes some inspiration from the impressionists, but that's always good news in my book (I love Debussy and Ravel). Plus there's plenty of variety, and some very nice uses of little bits of silence here and there. Thanks for posting it!

[artlowell]

Thanks, David. I always appreciate your critiques, especially coming some such an expert composer.

[Laguna Rising]

Excellent piece of work, well designed: artistic engineering.
I enjoyed the composition (always breathing) and even more the expressive playing of all these lead lines & melodies.
It certainly required a lot of work for arrangement and editing.
Just fine

Cheers

[artlowell]

Thanks, Laguna.

[seismic1]

I managed to listen to this before it got dark. I always find that string quartets make more suitable listening accompanied by natural light. There are some great harmonies on here, that lend the piece quite a dark atmosphere in places, but there is also o fair amount of lightness evident. I thought the mix was excellent, possibly your best yet.

Good work

[artlowell]

Thanks, Seismic. Thanks for listening.

[davidstiles]

Thanks, David. I always appreciate your critiques, especially coming some such an expert composer.

Thank you, Art - that is very kind of you. I really enjoy listening to your stuff. Your style reminds me of many composers that I love... a little bit of Vaughan Williams, shades of Ravel and Debussy and so forth, and yet also unique to you.

[artlowell]

The impressionistic stuff (which I truly love) isn't really my voice, but I needed to get it out of my system. Still looking for my own voice. i wonder what that will sound like.

[Esgalachoir]

Hi, Artlowell. I just listened to this piece, and I found it to be exceptionally elegant and well put together. I love composing music myself, and I am interested in composing things that are similarly complex. I was wondering what exactly you found so difficult about working this piece out? The reason that I'm asking this is that I'm wondering if you would be willing to share anything you learned in the process.

Regards,

- Corin