Melodic Writing and Thematic Unity in Chevalier de Saint Georges’ Quatuor Concertante No. 5 in G Major
Session Title
Additional Projects
College
College of Visual and Performing Arts
Department
Music
Abstract
String quartets of the Classical Period were known for their unique blend of four parts that varied according to the interpretation of the composer. Among the extant string quartets of the Classical Period are those by the Guadeloupe-born French composer, Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, which often go unnoticed. Because little scholarship has been published about them, they are largely underrepresented works. In 1777, Bologne composed Quatour Concertante No. 5, a string quartet written at a time when the genre was not yet as popular in Paris as it was in German lands, in part because the founder of the string quartet was the eminent Franz Joseph Haydn. However, Bologne’s quartet is composed in an early French style which, by comparison, is very loose and lyrical, thus deviating from the stricter conventions of German practice. Given these differences, this study will examine the thematic structure of the first movement and especially the interaction between the violin and the cello.
Start Date
15-4-2022 12:00 PM
Melodic Writing and Thematic Unity in Chevalier de Saint Georges’ Quatuor Concertante No. 5 in G Major
String quartets of the Classical Period were known for their unique blend of four parts that varied according to the interpretation of the composer. Among the extant string quartets of the Classical Period are those by the Guadeloupe-born French composer, Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, which often go unnoticed. Because little scholarship has been published about them, they are largely underrepresented works. In 1777, Bologne composed Quatour Concertante No. 5, a string quartet written at a time when the genre was not yet as popular in Paris as it was in German lands, in part because the founder of the string quartet was the eminent Franz Joseph Haydn. However, Bologne’s quartet is composed in an early French style which, by comparison, is very loose and lyrical, thus deviating from the stricter conventions of German practice. Given these differences, this study will examine the thematic structure of the first movement and especially the interaction between the violin and the cello.
