String Quartet No. 1 (Hill)

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String Quartet No. 1 in B-flat major "Maori Quartet", Stiles 1.2.3.3 SQ1 [1] is the first of Alfred Hill's seventeen string quartets. Its composition began before 1892, it was completed after 1896 and premiered only on 18 May 1911 [2] [3] in Sydney. [4]

Contents

The first two quartets were published together by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1913 (no full score, only parts). Each of them used to be referred as Maori, [5] [2] a feature that can lead to confusions. Today the first one is called Maori, while for the second another (longer) subtitle is retained. [6] Its approximate duration is 22 minutes.

History

Hill began composing this quartet while he was studying in Leipzig Conservatory (between 1887 and 1891), but the two middle movements (Adagio and Scherzo) [1] were later (after 1896) substituted with new music incorporating Māori ideas. [4] The second theme of the Finale is actually the same Māori tune that was used as a principal (love) theme in Hill's 1896 cantata Hinemoa [4] (though its origin is not indicated in the quartet score). The 1896 as terminus post quem for this quartet is also based on the composition of Hinemoa: it was by its success that Hill became fond of incorporating Māori tunes into his music.

Even in its final form this quartet remains clearly European in style. The original Scherzo was used by Hill in his First Symphony (by 1898) [7] and in the Fourth Quartet .

Structure

The Quartet is in four movements:

I. Moderato — Allegro
II. Waiata (Songs accompanying the Dance). Haka Dance (Barbaric) — Trio. Poi Dance (Graceful) — Da capo
III. Tangi (Lament). Lento — Con moto — Tempo I — Allegro
IV. Finale. Allegro moderato

The first movement is a sonata form. Its first subject (in B-flat major) consists of two parts: a slow (Moderato) and a fast (Allegro), both played twice. They reappear in the development section and in the reprise. The second theme (Cantabile) is in F major. At the end of the movement it is repeated in B-flat major. Both the exposition and the reprise close with a new statement of the initial slow theme.

The Waiata is a scherzo with a trio. Both themes are Māori: a barbaric Haka Dance and a graceful Poi Dance. The main section is in F major, while the trio is in D major.

The Tangi is also based on a Māori. It is a sorrowful melody in G minor with a contrasting middle section in fast tempo (Con moto). This movement ends with a brief coda.

Just like the opening movement, the Finale is laid out in a sonata form (in B-flat major) with a second subject first stated in F major. It is the longest movement of the quartet and its coda (Animato) provides a splendid conclusion for the whole piece.

Editions

Recordings

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Violin Sonata No. 4 in C minor "Maori Sonata", Stiles 1.2.1.6 So4, is a sonata for violin and piano by Alfred Hill composed ca.1909. It was premiered on 6 April 1910 by Cyril Monk and Laurence Godfrey Smith in the YMCA Hall, Sydney. Its approximate duration is 18 minutes.

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String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Stiles 1.2.3.3 SQ4, was completed by Alfred Hill on 25 July 1916 in Neutral Bay, Sydney. It is dedicated to Henri Verbrugghen and his Verbrugghen String Quartet. It is Hill's first non-program string quartet. The first two movements were transcribed for orchestra in 1955 forming the basis of the Symphony No. 4 "The Pursuit of Happiness" in which this music turns to have a program.

Symphony No. 4 in C minor "The Pursuit of Happiness", Stiles 1.3.4.1 SyP, was finished by Alfred Hill in 1954 or 1955. Its first two movements were arranged from Hill's String Quartet No. 4 (1916), while the last one derives from the finale of his String Quartet No. 17. The symphony is dedicated "to my esteemed friend Henry Kripps", a prominent Australian conductor. Its approximate duration is 20 minutes.

String Quartet No. 5 in E-flat major "The Allies", Stiles 1.2.3.3 SQ5, was completed by Alfred Hill on 24 June 1920 in Sydney. It is dedicated to Henri Verbrugghen, whose quartet gave the first public performance of the composition on 2 March 1921. The music of the quartet presents four nations who were allies during World War I. It was subsequently arranged by Hill for string orchestra as his Symphony No. 11 "The Four Nations". The approximate duration of the quartet is 29–33 minutes, which makes it one of the most substantial quartets composed by Hill.

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String Quartet No. 6 in G major "The Kids", Stiles 1.2.3.3 SQ6, by Alfred Hill bears dedication: "for the young fry at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music". It was most likely written for the student string quartet groups at the Conservatorium mentored by the composer. The manuscript is dated 3 September 1927. Its technical demands being limited, it is an accessible for amateurs composition. The quartet is set in earlier style, reminiscent of Haydn, Schubert, and other classical composers. With approximate duration of only 15–16 minutes, this is the shortest of all Hill's quartets.

String Quartet No. 7 in A major, Stiles 1.2.3.3 SQ7, by Australian composer Alfred Hill was commenced in Melbourne and finished in Sydney on 18 November 1934, as stated in the manuscript score preserved in the National Library of Australia. It is thought to be the last of Hill's middle period quartets, with some impressionistic features being transitional to his later compositions. Approximate duration is 20,5 minutes.

String Quartet No. 8 in A major, Stiles 1.2.3.3 SQ8, by Australian composer Alfred Hill was finished half month after his Seventh: the manuscript score and parts, which are preserved in the National Library of Australia, are dated 6 December 1934. While the previous quartet was a somewhat transitive composition from his middle period, with the Eighths one starts counting Hill's late quartets. It is thematically unified and has many impressionistic features. In 1950s Hill arranged it into a string symphony, the first known performance of which was on 27 March 1957. The approximate duration of the quartet is 25–28 minutes.

The Piano Quartet in B♭ major, Op. 41, also known as the Piano Quartet No. 2, was written by Camille Saint-Saëns in February 1875. Dedicated to Jules Foucault, it was premiered on 6 March 1875 in Paris. It has been called one of Saint-Saëns' neglected masterpieces and is in the core repertoire of the piano quartet.

References

  1. 1 2 Allan Stiles. A Catalogue of the Music of Alfred Hill
  2. 1 2 Lam, Y. C. (2006, June). Analytical study of Alfred Hill’s String Quartet no. 2 in G minor (Thesis, Master of Arts). University of Otago
  3. ↑ Stephen Pleskun (17 January 2012). A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN COMPOSERS AND THEIR COMPOSITIONS: (VOLUME 1: 1901–1954). Xlibris Corporation. p. 158. ISBN   978-1-4653-8226-9.
  4. 1 2 3 Donald Maurice. Booklet notes to Naxos 8.570491
  5. ↑ E.g.: "the two sonorous Maori String quartets" ( Historical Studies. 1944. p. 65.); "two Maori String quartets" (Richard Appleton (1983). The Australian Encyclopaedia. Grolier Society of Australia. p. 141. ISBN   978-0-9596604-2-5.)
  6. ↑ In notes to Naxos 8.570491 this quartet is called Maori. However, in Stiles's catalogue this title is reserved for the Second, while the First quartet lacks there any special name.
  7. ↑ Rhoderick McNeill (23 March 2016). The Australian Symphony from Federation to 1960. Routledge. pp. 55–. ISBN   978-1-317-04087-3.
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