![]() Sweden’s ready finances provided steady employment, but the country’s second city was markedly provincial in comparison to Prague. Leaving the Bohemian capital, Smetana went in search of glory elsewhere, namely Gothenburg. A self-taught man, Smetana found it an uphill struggle to gain recognition in Prague, despite initial attempts to find favour with his Ceské tance (‘Czech Dances’). At the beginning of his career, Smetana had deep ties with fellow musicians over the border in Leipzig, and with Liszt (who was an early advocate). Yet his relationship with the Czech National Revival had not always been so strong. Even Smetana himself presented such a façade when he wrote to his German publisher that ‘according to my merits and according to my efforts I am a Czech composer and the creator of the Czech style in the branches of dramatic and symphonic music’. Collectively these works give a rare insight into the private music of outwardly nationalist composers.īy the end of his career, Smetana was considered the founding father of Czech musical nationalism. ![]() While Smetana’s late works speak nostalgically after the loss of his hearing, Voces intimae is an intense precursor to Sibelius’s tormented fourth symphony, written at a time of profound depression. Both Bedrich Smetana and Jean Sibelius, neither of whom was daunted by the large scale, embraced the form at specific points of crisis in their lives. Given its smaller scale, it proved to be an eloquent mode of communicating specifically private musical thoughts. Yet it similarly began to draw on more programmatic elements over the course of the nineteenth century. Like the symphony, the genre is adept at presenting and developing abstract musical material. The string quartet has something of a double life. These works give a unique insight into the private musical lives of their composers and are performed by the Dante Quartet with conviction and flawless technique. ![]() Voces intimae is an intense precursor to Sibelius’s tormented fourth Symphony, written at a time of profound depression. Interestingly, Smetana and Sibelius, both renowned for their skilful dealing with symphonic forces poignantly turned to the intimacy of the string quartet form at specific points of crisis in their lives. The musical language is adventurous and unusual, speaking movingly of the composer’s loss of his hearing. The turbulent second Quartet in D minor serves as a sequel to the first, continuing Smetana’s life story. Smetana’s Quartet No 1 in E minor is entitled ‘From my life’ and musically chronicles his youth, loves and vocation, culminating with the onset of his deafness. This group, renowned for their inventive interpretations and sensitive articulation, capture perfectly the expressive intensity of these masterpieces. Please visit me there :- Helen Marple-Horvat, Songwriter, Arranger, Composer.BBC Music Magazine award winners the Dante Quartet return for their third Hyperion recording with the string quartets of Smetana and Sibelius. My Youtube Channel has many of my arrangements for String Quartet, most recorded by Capriccio Quartet, and all but two available as Sheet Music Plus products. However one octave apart also sounds good so younger players could easily tackle this song. I opted for the high octave at times because the unison with the viola two octaves below seemed to have a lot of emotional power. You may like to change the score at this point if it feels easier, or just prefer one or the other. I experimented for a long time with different octaves for the violin to play at Letters C and E. The double stopping usually includes one open string. In this arrangement the cello has less to do than usual, but there are some sudden shifts of position and that deep presence is vital to the overall effectiveness of the song. I envisaged the song as played with a great deal of delicacy and subtlety, though this is hard to achieve with Sibelius software. These do need to be heard, but very much as a background texture. At the moment I have only a computer version of the Score but will be recording it with Capriccio Quartet once lockdown restrictions are at an end.įeel free to change the bowing, especially in the eight-quaver accompaniment bars. I think that it lends itself beautifully to a String Quartet Arrangement and very much enjoyed working on it. The song went Platinum in New Zealand and USA, and reached the top five in the New Zealand and Australian Charts. ![]() Written and produced by Finneas O?Connel, brother of Billie Eilish, it was used as the soundtrack to Season Two of ?13 Reasons Why? - a drama on Netflix. ?Lovely? by Billie Eilish and Khalid was released in April 2018.
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