' (English translation: "Intimate voices" or "Inner voices"),
Op. 56, is a five-
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 ...
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 ...
written in 1909 by the Finnish composer
Jean Sibelius. He composed the work in
D minor
D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major.
The D natural minor scale is:
Changes needed for t ...
. It is the only major work for string quartet of his mature period.
History
As a student, Sibelius composed several works for string quartet. In 1885 he finished a string quartet in
E-flat major, followed in 1889, after quite a few individual movements for this combination, by a string quartet in
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major.
The A natural minor scale is:
:
Changes ...
. The first string quartet to receive an opus number was in 1890 the quartet Op. 4 in
B-flat major.
Afterwards he wrote no string quartets until ' in 1909. Composed between his
Third and
Fourth Symphony,
it remained "the only major work for string quartet of Sibelius's mature period".
Sibelius composed the quartet from December 1908, working on it in London in early 1909. The Latin title, translating to "Intimate Voices" or "Inner voices", marks a "conversational quality"
and "inwardness" of the music. The composer wrote about his work in a letter to
his wife: "It turned out as something wonderful. The kind of thing that brings a smile to your lips at the hour of death. I will say no more."
Sibelius showed it to his publisher
Robert Lienau on 15 April 1909.
The first performance was on 25 April 1910 at the Helsinki Music Institute. A review in the
Helsingin Sanomat
''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...
noted: "The composition attracted a great deal of attention, and it is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant products in its field. It is not a composition for the public at large, it is so eccentric and out of the ordinary."
Sibelius later wrote about the composition: "The melodic material is good but the harmonic material could be 'lighter', and even 'more like a quartet.'"
Structure and music
Sibelius structured the quartet in five movements:
The work opens with a dialogue of violin and cello.
The first movement contrasts "murmurous figuration with firm chords".
The second movement is a
scherzo in
A major
A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...
, connected to the first by musical
motif
Motif may refer to:
General concepts
* Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose
* Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions
* Moti ...
s.
The central slow movement has been described as a "soulful quest for serenity in
F major". It contains "three detached, soft chords in E minor, remote from any of the previous harmonic implications",
to which Sibelius added the "" in a friend's score.
A second scherzo is also connected by motivic similarity to the first movement. The finale, "with more than a hint of folk fiddling",
grows in intensity by markings from Allegro to "sempre più energico" (always more energetic), described as "fiercely accented music of forceful contrasts but irresistible momentum".
Arrangements
The Finnish violinist and composer
Pekka Kuusisto has arranged the work for chamber orchestra, which was included in Kuusisto's 2009 Australian tour with the
Australian Chamber Orchestra.
[Anna King Murdoch, "An aural homecoming"]
''The Age'', 14 March 2009, A2, p. 16
Literature
* Beat Föllmi (ed.): ''Das Streichquartett in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts'' (German), Verlag Hans Schneider, Tutzing 2004
*
Tomi Mäkelä: ''Jean Sibelius und seine Zeit'' (German), Laaber-Verlag, Regensburg 2013
* Ulrich Wilker: "Ein fernes Murmeln aus einer fernen Welt". Zu Jean Sibelius’ Streichquartett "Voces intimae" d-Moll op. 56 (German), in: Stefan Börnchen/Claudia Liebrand (eds.): ''Lauschen und Überhören. Literarische und mediale Aspekte auditiver Offenheit'', Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Paderborn 2020, p .193–211
References
External links
*
Jean Sibelius / String Quartet in D minor ("Voces Intimae"), Op. 56 AllMusic
Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) / String Quartet in d minor, Op. 56, Voces intimae (Intimate Voices)earsense.org
{{Authority control
Compositions for string quartet
Compositions by Jean Sibelius
Chamber music by Jean Sibelius
1909 compositions