String Quartet No. 1 by the Mexican composer and violinist Silvestre Revueltas was composed in 1930.

History

The score was completed in 1930 and is dedicated to Carlos Chávez.

Analysis

The quartet is in two movements: #Allegro energico #Vivo The first movement is regarded by one analyst as not following any conventional formal scheme, consisting instead of a series of contrasting episodes in different tempos and frequently changing meters that is similar to the Italian canzonas of the late-sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. According to another view, it is in a ternary, ABA form, which conflicts with the expected sonata-allegro form of the traditional string quartet. The outer sections are fast, rhythmically irregular, loud, and aggressive, while the middle section contrasts with a slower tempo (Lento), regular rhythms, soft dynamics, and a lyrical, tender mood. The first section falls into four subsections (Allegro energico, Poco meno mosso – cantabile, Tempo I, and Meno mosso), each marked at the end by sustained chords, grand pauses, or both. The fourth subsection is a modified repetition of the second. The chromatic harmonies of the slow, B section are reminiscent of the slow passages in the

String Quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

and '' Lyric Suite'' of

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

. The concluding Allegro is a nearly literal repetition of just the third subsection from the first part of the movement. The second movement is in the same fast-slow-fast ternary pattern as the first, but the two A sections are identical and divided into just two subsections. The slow middle section, unlike its counterpart in the first movement, is characterised by

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...

patterns and an eerie mood. Its metrical regularity contrasts sharply with the erratic rhythms of the outer, A sections.

Recordings

In chronological order of recording. * ''Cuartetos de cuerda de Silvestre Revueltas''. String Quartets 1–4. Cuarteto de Cuerdas Latinoamericano (Jorge Risi and Aron Bitrán, violins; Javier Montiel, viola; Alvaro Bitrán, cello). Recorded in the Sala Carlos Chávez, Centro Cultural Universitario, June 1984. LP recording, 1 disc: analog, 33⅓ rpm, stereo, 12 in. Voz Viva de México: Serie Música Nueva. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1984. Reissued as ''Silvestre Revueltas: Los cuartetos de cuerdas'', second edition. LP recording, 1 disc: analog, 33⅓ rpm, stereo, 12 in. Voz Viva 337–338. Serie Música nueva MN-22. exico City Voz Viva, 1987. * ''Silvestre Revueltas. Música de feria: The String Quartets/los cuartetos de cuerda''. Quartet No. 1; Quartet No. 2, ''Magueyes''; Quartet No. 3; Quartet No. 4: ''Música de feria''. Cuarteto Latinoamericano. Recorded April 9–10, 1993, at the Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie, Pennsylvania. New Albion NA062CD. Classical Music Library. San Francisco: New Albion Records, 1993. Reissued as ''Revueltas String Quartets Nos. 1–4''. Hong Kong : Naxos Digital Services Ltd., 009 streaming audio (online resource). *''Martínez Bourguet String Quartet Plays Silvestre Revueltas''. String Quartets 1–3 and ''Música de feria''. Martínez Bourguet String Quartet (Pablo Arturo Martínez Bourguet and Ekaterine Martínez Bourguet, violins; Alessia Martínez Bourguet, viola; César Martínez Bourguet, cello). Recorded in the summer of 2006 in the Sala Carlos Chávez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 4¾ in., stereo. MB Producciones .n. exico MB Producciones, 2007.

References

Sources * * * *

History

Analysis

Recordings

References

Further reading