Quartetto n. 3 (1963)
Giacinto Scelsi
string quartet
string quartet
The third string quartet is the only piece for which Scelsi gives us a “programme” — that is, a story for us to follow, in which we can understand the music. The drama of the piece is the journey between mental states, symbolized first by the pitch B-flat (with it’s associate E-flat) eventually, by the end of the piece, reaching to an F.
This motion is so simple that as listeners we are lead into the sound, our attention is on the details, the resonance and energy of each moment. Through this “inward” listening, we are taken into the five states of being represented by the five movements.
Cassandra Miller