Resonance Quartets

Photo: Adrian Burrows

3 NEW STRING QUARTETS FOR INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED STRING PLAYERS FOR SALE

Magnetic Moments ~ David Horne (grade 5-6)

Angular Momentum ~ Tansy Davies (grade 6-8+)

Spinlock ~ Philip Cashian (grade 7-8+)

Click on the title for more information about each of the quartets, including links to performances of the quartets by young people and an extract from each score.

You can purchase copies of each of the quartets via our Ebay store. Simply click here.

Each set of score and parts (including CD) costs £15 + P&P and can be purchased from BCMG by contacting Nancy Evans, Learning Manager by email nancy@bcmg.org.uk or by phone on 0121 616 2616.

The string quartets were commissioned as part of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group's recent Resonance project which brought together composers, scientists and young people. The project explored the connections between contemporary music and cutting edge science. The young people who took part in the project were involved throughout the evolution of the quartets, from the initial ideas to the completed works and were coached throughout by BCMG musicians. Together with the scores is a CD of the music recorded by a quartet of BCMG musicians, information about the science that inspired the music and introductory activities.

'The three 'Resonance' quartets from BCMG are a fascinating addition to the repertoire and provide an excellent model for intermediate and advanced players to extend their skills both as an ensemble and as individual musicians. Each quartet challenges the players at their appropriate levels (each quartet has a clearly labelled grading) without being overwhelming; they also will develop key skills of rhythmic accuracy and listening to each other within an ensemble. However, their main strength is how they require the players to extend their imagination beyond the page, not just to the science project underpinning the compositions. The players are required to think about articulation, melody, and the balancing of important parts. Above all there is a sense of fun and energy created by all three quartets.'
              Neil Ferris, Chamber Music Coach, RCM Junior Department

Comments about Spinlock by Philip Cashian:

'I like the freedom given to the players in the piece and think that it perfectly portrays the scientific ideas. The experimental music style combined with complex science makes this an inspirational and original piece.'

               Hetty Mulhall, Cellist, Berkshire Maestros

'The first piece of experimental music that I felt actually made sense and took the players on a journey. Music portrays the science behind nuclear physics well and we all learned something new! Very enjoyable to play and to listen to.'

                Vicky Tay, Violinist, Berkshire Maestros

'A super introduction to the techniques and sounds of 21st Century music. A great addition to the quartet repertoire.'

                 Alexandra Wood

The Resonance project was run in collaboration with the Henry Wellcome Building for Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy (HWB-NMR) at The University of Birmingham, funded by the Wellcome Trust. The young people involved in the project were drawn from Birmingham Music Service (BMS) and String Quartets from Scratch.