{{No footnotes, date=January 2014 The quatuor concertant is a special form of

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 ...

that developed in

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around 1775 and became one of the leading genres of Parisian music until the

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Name

The name "quatuor concertant" appears often in the scores of string quartets published in Paris, not always corresponding to the characteristics below. While the term initially was simply used to highlight the soloistic character of the piece, from around 1776 on it is mainly used for string quartets in which the different voices alternately take the leading role.

Characteristics

The ''quatuors concertants'' are generally two

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

s, or rarely three movements. The two-movement works usually consist of an

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton * ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...

for the first movement and a Rondo or

Theme and variations In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these. Variation techniques Mozart's Twelve ...

for the second. The three-movement pieces usually have a slower movement in the middle before a presto

finale Finale may refer to: Pieces of music * Finale (music), the last movement of a piece * ''Finale'' (album), a 1977 album by Loggins and Messina * "Finale B", a 1996 song from the rock opera ''Rent'' * "Finale", a song by Anthrax from ''State of Eu ...

. Characteristic of the ''quatuor concertants'' are the alternating solos in the different voices, sometimes including the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

, catchy, often operatic, melodies, and a great ingenuity in harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic detail. There are clear parallels to the '' sinfonie concertante'' which was popular at the same time. A special form is the ''Quatuor d'airs connus'', which is based on the variation of a popular melody, derived either from folksong or from an opera

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

. The ''quatuor concertants'' should be distinguished from the Quatuor brillant that became popular around 1800, and in which the first violin dominates to the accompaniment of the other three voices.

Important composers of string quartets in Paris from 1770-1789

* François-Joseph Gossec (6 string quartets, Op.15, 1772) *

Nicholas Joseph Chartrain Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its d ...

(36 string quartets, 1772-1785) *

Pierre Vachon Pierre Vachon (3 June 1738 – 7 October 1803) was a French composer. Vachon was born in Avignon, France. He wrote around thirty string quartets, various chamber works, operas, and orchestral pieces. He studied the violin with Carlo Chiab ...

(24 string quartets, ca.1772- ca.1782) *

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (25 December 1745 – 10 June 1799), was a French Creole (people), Creole virtuoso violinist and composer, who was conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. Saint-Georges was born in the ...

(18 string quartets, 1773-1785) *

Jean-Baptiste Davaux Jean-Baptiste Davaux (19 July 1742 – 2 February 1822) was a French classical violinist and composer. Biography Born in La Côte-Saint-André, Davaux came from a bourgeois family. His father was King's Counselor and receiver in the salt attic ...

(25 string quartets, 1773-1807) *

Giuseppe Cambini Giuseppe Maria Gioacchino Cambini ( Livorno, 13 February? 1746Netherlands? 1810s? or Paris? 1825?) was an Italian composer and violinist. Life Unconfirmed information Information about his life is scarcely traceable. Louis-Gabriel Michaud,Louis-Ga ...

(174 quartets, 1773-1805, including one with flute) * Etienne Bernard Barrière (18 string quartets, 1776-1782) *

Jean-Baptiste Bréval Jean-Baptiste Sebastien Bréval (6 November 1753 – 18 March 1823) was a French Cello, cellist and composer. He wrote mostly for his own instrument, including pedagogical works as well as virtuoso display pieces. Life Bréval was born in Pa ...

(18 string quartets, 1776-1785) * Nicolas Dalayrac (36 string quartets, 1777-1781) *

Josephus Fodor Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly de ...

(24 string quartets, 1781-1789) *

Giovanni Battista Viotti Giovanni Battista Viotti (12 May 1755 – 3 March 1824) was an Italian violinist whose virtuosity was famed and whose work as a composer featured a prominent violin and an appealing lyrical tunefulness. He was also a director of French and Italia ...

(15 string quartets, 1783-1817) *

Federigo Fiorillo Federigo Fiorillo (baptized 1 June 1755 Brunswick, Germany, died after 1823) was a mandolinist and composer, who wrote thirty-six caprices for violin, also called études. Life and career Fiorillo's father was Ignazio Fiorillo, a Neapolitan, wh ...

(15 string quartets, 1786-1799)

References

* Krummacher, Friedhelm. ''Das Streichquartett, Bd. 1: Von Haydn bis Schubert'' (''Handbuch der musikalischen Gattungen'' 6,1), 2001, p. 191-222. * Trimpert, Dieter Lutz. ''Die Quatuors concertants von Giuseppe Cambini''. Schneider: Tutzing, 1967. * Levy, Janet Muriel. ''The Quatuor concertant in Paris in the Later Half of the Eighteenth Century'', Diss. Stanford 1971.