Raphael Ensemble

Last updated

The Raphael Ensemble is a classical string sextet formed in 1982 that concentrates on expanding the representation of popular and neglected works of the quintet and sextet repertoire. Their debut recording of Brahms' String Sextets was selected for BBC Radio 3's Critics' Choice of 1989. They have also performed at the Edinburgh International Festival.

String sextet composition for six strings

In classical music, a string sextet is a composition written for six string instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such a composition. Most string sextets have been written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, two violas, and two cellos.

A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit.

A sextet is a formation containing exactly six members. The former term is commonly associated with vocal ensembles or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six similar or related objects are considered a single unit.

Its members are:

Violin bowed string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths

The violin, sometimes known as a fiddle, is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino piccolo and the kit violin, but these are virtually unused. The violin typically has four strings tuned in perfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its strings, though it can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow.

Viola bowed string instrument

The viola (; Italian pronunciation: [ˈvjɔːla]) is a string instrument that is bowed or played with varying techniques. It is slightly larger than a violin and has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the violin family, between the violin (which is tuned a perfect fifth above) and the cello (which is tuned an octave below). The strings from low to high are typically tuned to C3, G3, D4, and A4.

Cello musical instrument

The cello ( CHEL-oh; plural cellos or celli) or violoncello ( VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh; Italian pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]) is a string instrument. It is played by bowing or plucking its four strings, which are usually tuned in perfect fifths an octave lower than the viola: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. It is the bass member of the violin family, which also includes the violin, viola and the double bass, which doubles the bass line an octave lower than the cello in much of the orchestral repertoire. After the double bass, it is the second-largest and second lowest (in pitch) bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The cello is used as a solo instrument, as well as in chamber music ensembles (e.g., string quartet), string orchestras, as a member of the string section of symphony orchestras, most modern Chinese orchestras, and some types of rock bands.

Related Research Articles

String quintet musical composition

A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet, a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola or a second cello, or occasionally a double bass.

String trio piece written for a group of three string instruments

A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. The term is generally used with reference to works of chamber music from the Classical period to the present. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cello. This is how the term is used by major catalogs, including IMSLP.

A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first and second violin players, the viola, the cello, and usually, but not always, the double bass.

A piano sextet is a composition for piano and five other musical instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such works. There is no standard grouping of instruments with that name, and compared to the string quartet or piano quintet literature, relatively few such compositions exist. The best-known piano sextet is probably the Sextet by Poulenc, one of the pinnacles of the wind and piano repertoire. Chausson's Concert is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of French strings and piano chamber music literature.

Antonín Vranický Czech violinist and composer

Antonín Vranický, Germanized as Anton Wranitzky, and also seen as Wranizky, was a famous Czech violinist and composer of the 18th century. He was the half brother of Pavel Vranický.

Steven Dann is a Canadian violist.

The String Sextet in D minor "Souvenir de Florence", Op. 70, is a string sextet scored for 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos composed in the summer of 1890 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky dedicated the work to the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society in response to his becoming an Honorary Member. The work, in the traditional four-movement form, was titled "Souvenir de Florence" because the composer sketched one of the work's principal themes while visiting Florence, Italy, where he composed The Queen of Spades. The work was revised between December 1891 and January 1892, before being premiered in 1892.

This is a list of pages with repertoire for stringed instruments.

Jiří Družecký was a Czech composer, oboist, and timpanist.

The String Sextet No. 1 in B♭ major, Op. 18, was composed in 1860 by Johannes Brahms and premiered in Hanover by an ensemble led by Joseph Joachim. It was published in 1862 by the firm of Fritz Simrock.

String octet group of eight players

A string octet is a piece of music written for eight string instruments, or sometimes the group of eight players. It usually consists of four violins, two violas and two cellos, or four violins, two violas, a cello and a double bass.

Samuel Carlton Cooley was an American violist and composer.

José Luis Turina Spanish composer

José Luis Turina is a Spanish composer, grandson of Joaquín Turina.

Helmut Degen was a German composer.

Ketil Hvoslef is a Norwegian composer. He is the son of composer Harald Sæverud.

<i>Lyric Suite for Sextet</i> 1983 studio album by Chick Corea and Gary Burton

Lyric Suite for Sextet is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Chick Corea with a string quartet recorded in 1982 and released on the ECM label. The album is the third studio recording by the duo following Crystal Silence (1972) and Duet (1978).

The Fred Sherry String Quartet is an American classical string quartet.

Among the repertoire for the standard string sextet are the following works:

Régis Pasquier is a French violinist from a family of musicians. His father Pierre Pasquier (1902–1986), a violist and his uncles Jean (1903), a violinist, and Étienne (1905–1997), a cellist, had founded a string trio, le Trio Pasquier. His brother Bruno Pasquier is a violist.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.