Instrumentation
2 vln.2 vla.vlc
Availability
A4 facsimile score 0-571-55548-9 (fp) on sale, parts on special sale from the Hire Library
Programme Notes
I made my quintet (for string quintet and viola) by juxtaposing five distinct fragments: each one a facet of the same musical idea - an old Norman folksong, called La mort du roi Renaud - which happens to have a family resemblance to the medieval hymn Ave Maris Stella used as a tenor by Monteverdi in his Vespro della beata Vergine.
Each of these fragments is framed by a long unison crescendo and a little stuttering refrain, and each is dominated by a solo instrument. At the outset, after a long (bearly) unison tutti there are two ruminative sections, for the first viola and second violin. A cello solo leads to more extrovert music for the first violin and the second viola. Near the end, a ghost of the Monteverdi, in folkloric disguise, peeps out before a tiny chorale/coda closes down the work.
John Woolrich, 1995