Quadritium String Orchestra - Sheet Music

SKU: CF.BAS39

ISBN 9780825866623. UPC: 798408066628. 9 x 12 inches. Key: A minor.

Using limited resources of only four notes, composer Mike Forbes has built an impressive composition for the beginning string orchestra. This is a perfect vehicle to showcase your groups at contests and festivals. There could be a crosscurricular tie-in to Science as well.
Quadritium, a fantasy on four notes, was written specifically to introduce beginning musicians to new ways of thinking about music. While the music is not atonal (in fact, far from it) the use of quartal harmonies derived from the interval of the perfect fourth lead the players down melodic and rhythmic episodes all derived from the number four. Four-measure phrases, the interval of the fourth, rhythms involving nothing faster than quarter notes, and the use of just four notes permeate this work for beginning strings. This work makes for a simplified introduction to contemporary music: it allows directors to get away from "learning the notes" and to focus on other elements of music (rhythm, balance, blend, dynamics, etc.) in their rehearsals. At the same time, the work introduces young musicians and audiences to new musical ideas in an approachable and intriguing framework.

About Carl Fischer Beginning String Orchestra Series

This series of Grade 1 pieces is designed for first year string groups. The pieces in this series are characterized by:

• Limited parts (often 2nd violin and viola are the same part, cello and bass are same part)
• Limited keys and rhythms - only simple 8th note patterns
• Limited independence of parts
• Playable after limited study time
• First position and natural bowings
• Piano for rehearsal and reinforcement