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Smart Listener- Chamber Music By: Saul Crespo
If you have been following The Smart Listener Series then you recall that I have explained a few things about symphonic music such as The Ciaccona, Paganini Caprices for solo violin and Beethoven piano sonatas. But there is still one classical music genre which is one of the most amazing.
I am talking about chamber music, one of the most interesting and wonderful experiences one can have as a musician.
A chamber music ensemble consists of a small group of musicians( usually from two to eight), a number not big enough to lose musicians’ individuality, but not small enough to ensure that the result must be a team work, where every partner has left his pride and become a part of a bigger ensemble. Its name comes from the XVIIIth Century, when chamber music began to rise; at that time, this kind of music was usually played in European palace chambers.
The chamber music ensemble can adopt a lot of forms: violin, cello and piano trio; string trio, violin and piano duo, clarinet and piano duo, string quartet, wind quintet... Every combination of instruments is possible! Today, I am going to talk about string quartet, one of the most perfect and equilibrated chamber ensembles.
The string quartet is usually formed by two violins, one viola and one violoncello. Playing in a string quartet is one of the most difficult things a string player can do, but when the work is done properly the results are absolutely amazing. There is a lot of wonderful music written for string quartet: this formation started in the XVIIIth century and it is still used. You can find string quartets playing from classical music( such as Mozart, Haydn) to even jazz and modern or contemporary music( the Turtle Island Quartet is an example of how jazz sounds when is played by a traditional chamber ensemble).
You might wonder why chamber music( and string quartets) are so special. The answer is quite simple: it is based on dialogue and communication. Playing in a chamber ensemble creates very strong bonds between its musicians. Every member of the group must not only play his / her part properly, but also listen to the other musicians and play with them. A great string quartet must be fully mingled, much like a good basketball player must be in communication with his teammates to figure out how they will develop the game winning instants.
Now that you understand this you can understand any string quartet. Please listen to Ravel ' s String Quartet in F major as an introduction to this wonderful world. In addition to the sonata form I wrote about in my previous article, you will be able to listen the dialogue, the questions and answers between the violins talking between them, the first violin talking with the cello, the viola and the second violin... This work( and any good work of its kind) is a very well built conversation, a journey shared with a few close friends.; the dialogue and mutual understanding as a life goal, shared by the ensemble with the public. Enjoy how every musician supports his teammates and shares melodic lines and beautiful sounds between them. The more we try to understand the dialogue with our equals the closer we get to a wonderful result as Ravel ' s string quartet; not only in music, but also in our life.