Music and Texts of GARY BACHLUND
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Sextet for Strings in E flat - (2003)
i. Allegretto pizzicato - [ 8 pages, circa 1' 15" ]
After a very brief opening gesture, the first theme of the allegretto builds its pyramids in pizzicati. Thereafter several voices sing out a contrasting arco melody with pizzicato accompaniment.
ii. Adagio espressivo - [ 5 pages, circa 3' 15" ]
The work shows off pizzicati in all its movements, here as an accompaniment and decoration to small arches of bowed lines moving from the initial slow line of the first viola, and into doublings as the movement proceeds.
iii. Scherzo - [ 8 pages, circa 1' 15" ]
Marked also giocoso, this is a short 12/8 romp, the theme for which is a simple melodic fragment of one arch leading downward and a contrasting arch rising before falling back. Again pizzicati accompany and provide motor impetus to drive the tempo forward.
iv. Contrappunto - [ 9 pages, circa 1' 30" ]
Not strictly a fugue nor a canon, this contrapuntal finale is dense of texture, generally non legato in feeling and utilizes various forms of counterpoint to extend the musical argument as the structure becomes defined by the theme and its wandering.
Total duration of full score, 30 pages, circa 9' 00" - an MP3 demo is here:
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The score for Sextet for Strings in E flat is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this piano-vocal score.
Sextet for Strings in E flat -- full score
Parts
Sextet for Strings in E flat -- Violin I
