Duarte: Concertante Quartet, Op. 22
Expected to ship in 1-2 weeks.
Shipping Policy- Composer: John W. Duarte (1919-2004)
- Instrumentation: Guitar, String Trio (Violin, Viola, Cello)
- Work: Concertante Quartet, Op. 22
- ISBN:
Description
Preface
During the early 1950s Duarte began to write works involving the guitar and another instrument - flute, voice or another guitar. The advent of John Williams, whom he taught for 18 months, prior to Williams' entry into the Royal College of Music, gave Duarte the opportunity to expand his chamber music oeuvre. An article by Len Williams, John's father, in The Classic Guitar Journal(January-April 1956) informed readers about the revival of the guitar concertante, which could be regarded as a chamber concerto, or a concerto grosso , with the string trio acting as the ripieno voices. He also reported that ‘Duarte is already at work' on what became the Concertante Quartet, Op. 22. A photograph, in the January 1957 issue of the same journal, contains a picture of John Williams and three fellow student string players at ‘a recent Philharmonic Society of Guitarists meeting', possibly playing the premiere performance, although the Quartet is also mentioned in the December 1956 programme. A typewritten programme for the February 1957 meeting includes the Concertante Quartet as the last item, but also includes the names of the players, John Williams (guitar), Gillian Radcliffe (violin), Mike Bowie (viola) and Dori Furth (cello).__ Duarte had discussed the project with Andrés Segovia who, ‘with the 1950 Quintet (Op. 143) by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco in mind, had urged me to use a string trio, not a quartet. Segovia had found two violins, "buzzing around my ears", to be one too many!'
In the mid-1970s the owner of Columbia Music Co., Sophocles Papas, decided he wanted to publish the Quartet , so much so that he had printing plates made and decreed ‘it is a great work' (letter from Papas to Duarte, 24 September 1975). Presser, Columbia's distributor, suggested waiting until the piece had been recorded by Carlos Barbosa-Lima. in the end, Papas returned the score in April 1978, even though he had spent nearly $600 (US) on the plates.
The Quartet is a substantial work in four movements. The 1st movement, in a Neo-Baroque style, is in Sonata form with a lengthy guitar cadenza. The sharp-eared listener may hear a reference to the folk song, ‘Barbara Allen'. The 2nd movement is a lovely lilting Siciliana and the opening theme is first a guitar solo, then for violin with a guitar descant in the style of Renaissance divisions. A more impassioned central section involves interaction among all parts before the Siciliana returns, mixed with elements of the central section. The 3rd movement had another life, arranged as a guitar duet for the Presti/Lagoya duo in 1964. The arrangement was titled Badinerie (published by Doberman-Yppan DO 1309 as, Op. 32a) and we think of baroque origins with this playful music, full of intertwining melodic lines and rhythmic verve. Duarte's older son was born in 1951 and the beginning of the 4th movement includes an obvious reference to the nursery rhyme tune, ‘Hot cross buns'. The opening Dorian theme reprises a variant of the theme from the 1st movement. The second theme, appearing initially in the violin, is derived from the first and reappears in various guises. The music then goes through several rapid harmonic moves, often separated by tritones. The opening melody finally recurs and a short rapid coda leads to a majestic conclusion.
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Duarte: Concertante Quartet, Op. 22
