programme notes
phoenix collective
Heartstrings
Trad. arr. Danish String Quartet & Nikolaj Busk
Sønderho Bridal Trilogy (2014)
World renowned as a classical string quartet, the Danish String Quartet has over many years pursued a side project as arrangers and performers of traditional Scandinavian folk music. Their arrangements of this music for the concert stage have brought it to a new audience worldwide.
The three tunes heard today are largely sønderhonigs – music associated with the small town of Sønderho on the island of Fanø. The inhabitants of this area retain strong links to the traditional music and culture of the region. The first piece in the trilogy starts with a wedding song from the Faroe Islands called ‘Ye Honest Bridal Couple’, and then moves into a set of three dance tunes from Fanø that date back at least four hundred years.
The second piece, which is still used in weddings to this day, has some melodic twists that are unusual for a sønderhonig, which is attributed to the influence of visiting sailors on Fanø music. The arrangers have emphasized this by the use of syncopated counter-melodies that weave in and out of the more solemn main theme. Finally, in an arrangement by Nikolaj Busk, the third piece is a contemplative and almost march-like tune which fades away gradually as if into the mist.
The selection of tunes for arrangement in this trilogy was partly inspired by the Fanø island tradition of young bridal couples drinking three shots of alcohol as part of the wedding ceremony: one sweet, one sour, and one bitter. Each shot was supposed to represent a stage of married life, acknowledging the trials and tribulations that are present even in a loving union.
Ella Macens (1991–)
String Quartet no 2 ‘A Love Worth Fighting For’ (2020)
Love
Longing, to be where we were
Fire
The Departure
A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Macens has become well known in Australia for her deeply felt, emotive compositional style. Influenced by her Latvian heritage and by contemporary and popular music, she has become one of the most original and successful voices of her generation.
The String Quartet no 2 was commissioned by the Flinders Quartet in 2020. Macens writes about the work:
‘This piece was composed during my processing of a long-term and deeply loving relationship coming to an end. The process of composing the music called for a complete return to self and the acknowledgement of my internal world. Writing the music became an opportunity to explore what it meant to be so utterly grounded by sensations of grief, and to reflect on the multitude of different emotions and sensations that come up into the heart-space and head-space when we process something changing in our lives.
The work moves through various states – of joy and elation, of longing and disbelief, and of fire and tension, ultimately searching for threads of acceptance and closure. The healing nature of composing this work confirmed for me that A Love Worth Fighting For is not only about the love we find outside of ourselves through connection with others, but also about our connection to ourselves and the power of self-trust and compassion during times of change.’
Alexander Borodin (1833–1887)
String Quartet no 2 in D major (1881)
Allegro moderato
Scherzo. Allegro
Notturno. Andante
Andante – Vivace
Surely one of the most beloved examples of Romantic chamber music, the String Quartet no 2 was paradoxically composed by an individual whose actual profession was not music, but rather organic chemistry. Borodin was well known in Russia during his lifetime for his work in science and medicine, even establishing a school of medicine for women in St Petersburg. His composition was pursued in his spare time and during periods of illness, but his talent was sufficient that he was considered to be one of ‘The Five’, a group dedicated to composing classical music in a uniquely Russian way.
The second quartet was composed when Borodin was on a summer holiday in 1881, and dedicated to his wife, amateur pianist Ekaterina Protopova. It has been suggested that the quartet was intended as an anniversary gift, and much has been made of the dialogue between the cello and the first violin throughout the work. Borodin, who was a self-taught cellist, ensured that some of the most significant melodic material is introduced by the cello!
An extremely approachable and appealing work, the quartet opens with an Allegro which includes lush melodic writing, especially in the first subject. This is contrasted with a more martial second subject and energetic animato sections. The second movement, a Scherzo, features light-hearted dance-like melodies, accompanied by chattering staccato rhythms in the inner voices. Perhaps the most famous movement is the beautiful Notturno, which was immortalised by its use in both the musical Kismet and Disney’s The Little Matchgirl. The final movement opens with rhetorical figures played in octaves by pairs of instruments which give way to a contrapuntal Vivace, whirling the piece to an exciting close.
Musicians, Phoenix Collective Quartet:
Violin 1 & Artistic Director - Dan Russell
Violin 2 - Pip Thompson
Viola - Ella Brinch
Cello - Andrew Wilson