Chinese Whispers (Waterhouse)
Chinese Whispers is a composition for string quartet in three movements by Graham Waterhouse that premiered in 2010. She combines elements of Chinese music with classical western composition techniques. The title refers to the children's game Chinese whispers , in German Stille Post . The work was awarded the BCMS Composition Prize of the Birmingham Chamber Music Society in 2011,
music
The composition has the following three movements :
- Lento - Adagio e maestoso - Moderato
- Allegro (pizzicato)
- Vivace
The work uses Chinese elements, for example pentatonic scales, from the point of view of a European classical composer. The title literally means "Chinese whispering" and is child's play in English, which is called silent mail in German . The rule of the game, according to which a phrase is whispered from child to child and changes in the process, becomes a compositional principle at some points in the piece.
The composer writes about his work: "The first movement begins with the imitation of a large imaginary temple bell, as if called to the attention of all present." The topics of the following Moderato use partially pentatonic melodies, the composer of a player of the Chinese string instrument Jinghu shown got. Unlike in Chinese music, the thematic material is developed.
The second movement corresponds to a Scherzo with a trio in double time for three and two. With the exception of ten bars in the center, it is played pizzicato throughout . In this movement, the composer tries to “combine the fragile pizzicato of the E string of the violin with the deep resonant sides of the cello”.
The last movement changes the rondo form, with the main theme constantly changing. A short cadence stops the flow of the work and surprises with changes in tempo and rhythm.
History, performances and reception
The impetus for the composition came from a European family who lived in Shanghai and whose two older children wanted to play string quartets with two Chinese musicians.
The work was first tried out at the 2010 opening concert of the National Chamber Music Course, a summer chamber music course in Preston, Hertfordshire , where the composer teaches. The first professional performance was on November 14, 2011 in the Gasteig , in conjunction with the composer's piccolo quintet . In a concert at the Kunstforum Gilching , which presented chamber music by Beethoven and Waterhouse, it was performed together with Rhapsodie Macabre for piano and string quartet, played by pianist Valentina Babor . A review in the Süddeutsche Zeitung described the rich Far Eastern coloring.
The work won the BCMS Composition Prize of the Birmingham Chamber Music Society (BCMS) in 2011, the year of the Society's 60th anniversary. It was performed on February 18, 2012 by the Poggi String Quartet at the Adrian Boult Hall of the Birmingham Conservatoire , along with works by Schubert ( Trout Quintet ) , Britten (Lachrymae) and the world premiere of Berceuse by John McCabe , a work commissioned by BCMS.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Chinese Whispers for string quartet . Graham Waterhouse . 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ↑ Concert music for flute and strings . Gasteig . 2011. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ↑ Piano quartet and rhapsody Macabre / chamber music with piano by Beethoven and Waterhouse (PDF; 77 kB) Kulturforum Gilching. February 11, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
- ↑ Fresh and wild / exciting chamber music in Gilching ( German , PDF; 52 kB) Süddeutsche Zeitung . February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
- ↑ Birmingham Chamber Music Society Recital ( English ) Birmingham Chamber Music Society. February 18, 2012. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
- ^ Birmingham Chamber Music Society Recital . Graham Waterhouse. February 18, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
- ^ Maggie Cotton: Review: Birmingham Chamber Music Society, at Adrian Boult Hall ( English ) Birmingham Post. February 24, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
