Cole Porter Favorites by Cole Porter String Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1823815

Cole Porter (1891-1964) was one of the giants in a golden age of American musical theatre that lasted from the 1920s through the 1940s, along with George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen and others. Unlike those composers, who came from urban Jewish immigrant families, Porter was a product of a small town in the American Midwest. Born into wealth and educated at Yale and Harvard, he had classical musical training but was drawn to musical theatre from his college days. In his career he composed over 800 songs and more than 20 complete musicals. He wrote his own lyrics, some of which contain sexual innuendo shocking for the time, that still feel bold today.

This arrangement pairs two of Porter’s greatest songs. “Night and Day”, from the 1932 musical Gay Divorce, is probably his best-known song, with a simple and memorable flowing melody, and his characteristic subtle rhythms and harmonic shifts. “So In Love” was featured in Kiss Me Kate (1948), considered his most successful musical. The main theme is in minor, with a major key second theme and final cadence.

CYPRESS PUBLISHING is pleased to be the imprint for arrangements for string ensemble by Stephen Levintow. He is a free lance professional violist and violinist specializing in chamber music, who began making string quartet and trio arrangements for wedding, party and corporate events, to expand the repertory or to improve on existing versions. Selections include unusual pieces by both familiar and lesser-known composers, plus standard classical and popular favorites.

The goal is to produce high-quality, musically satisfying arrangements faithful to the composer’s original material, yet sight-readable in most cases by working professionals or intermediate to advanced students. The full range of normal string technique is employed, while avoiding unnecessary technical complexity. Melodic material is distributed throughout the four voices where appropriate, to maintain listener and performer interest. All parts and scores are set in Sibelius© software format, with careful attention to legibility and page turns.