Classical Music | Music for Quartet

Recorded on 11/21/2009, uploaded on 11/21/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

In 1892, Claude Debussy found himself hopelessly struggling to complete his planned opera Rodrigue et Chimène, forcing himself to work with a libretto he knew was wholly incompatible with his concept of both music and drama. Ultimately, he abandoned the project and in the aftermath turned to the composition of chamber music. Two string quartets were planned, yet only one materialized—the String Quartet in G minor. Completed in 1893, it is considered a landmark in the history of chamber music, much in the same way Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune is in orchestral music. While its fame and importance is certainly solidified today, it was less than enthusiastically received at its premiere by the Ysaÿe Quartet on December 29, 1893.

Drawing on the principles of cyclic form which was used frequently by César Franck, Debussy’s String Quartet manages to stand upon the threshold between the waning Romantic tradition that had predominated Western music, while also looking forward to the techniques of the opening decades of the 20^th century. Harmony and melody likewise give way to Debussy’s burgeoning Impressionism, and despite the work’s keen motivic unity, rhythm and timbre often become the focus of the composer’s and thereby audience’s attention.

Cast in the traditional four-movement pattern, the String Quartet in G minor opens with an animated first movement whose initial theme becomes the principal motivic material for the entire piece. In the following scherzo, timbre is a critical element of the music as pizzicato and bowed playing are placed in close juxtaposition and even heard simultaneously, not in the typical context of melody and accompaniment, but as equally important aspects. The Andante third movement is a refreshing repose from the energetic movements that precede it and a breathtakingly beautiful gem in its own right. Lushly harmonized and lyrical outer sections frame a passionately introspective central episode that slowly builds in intensity as the melody is passed between the constituents of the quartet. The sprightly finale, according to Debussy himself, caused him the most grief in its composition. It opens with a slow introduction, serving as an effective bridge from the expressive third movement, before the movement’s chromatically-infused principal theme is heard first in the cello. Debussy creates a compelling conclusion to his quartet as the finale’s forward momentum refuses to be hindered, even in its softer moments, and ultimately culminating in a spirited G major coda.     Joseph DuBose

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String Quartet in g minor, Op. 10                      Claude Debussy

Animé et très décidé -- Assez vif et bien rythmé -- Andantino, doucement expressif -- Très modéré: Très mouvementé

The period around 1890 was a crucial time in Debussy's life.  The composer had just returned from Paris after a two-year residency in Italy with the Prix de Rome, and he was eager to rid himself of the restraints of academia.  One of the first works with which he struck a new artistic direction was his string quartet in g minor, Op. 10.   This work-along with Debussy's now-iconic Afternoon of a Fawn which was written about the same time as the quartet-established Debussy as a leading voice in the so-called Impressionistic style of music, although the composer disliked this moniker. Regardless of how it is labeled, the quartet uses varied tonal effects, soulful beauty, and a freedom from strict form and structure, to create an excellent musical counterpart to the Impressionist paintings and Symbolist poetry of the time.

The opening notes of the first movement are of great importance in the quartet as a whole; they make up the melodic germ from which the entire work unfolds.  Rhythmically complex and melodically convoluted, this initial motive zigzags back and forth within a small range, using a three-note filigree ornament as its central characteristic.   The second, third and fourth movements all derive their melodies from the first theme, with augmentations of certain intervals, transformations of meter, and the use of a wide variety of string techniques.

Completed in 1893, the quartet was dedicated to the Ysaye Quartet who gave the work's premier in Paris in December of that year.      Avalon String Quartet