STRING QUARTET NO. 2
Written: 2018-19
Duration: ca. 31'
Instrumentation: string quartet
Commissioned by J.K. Billman and written for and dedicated to the Euclid Quartet
World Premiere: Euclid Quartet, Mostly Modern Festival, Skidmore College, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Filene Hall, June 25, 2019.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music
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Program Note
In some ways, String Quartet No. 2 is similar to my String Quartet No. 1: the five movements are stylistically diverse, I use a few snippets of pre-existing music, and the music, while idiomatic, is technically demanding. As with my first quartet, this work explores technical and aesthetic ideas I didn’t have a chance to explore in other works.
The first movement, Colored Fields, is inspired by abstract expressionist painters such as Mark Rothko, Kenneth Noland, and Barnett Newman, but also pointillist painters such as Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. There are textures that emerge and submerge using articulations that gradually shift from soft to loud, or short to long, and there are a few transitions that utilize a technique I call pitch phasing or phase modulation, as opposed to tempo phasing. In these transitions, two or more instruments gradually modulate (raise or lower) notes, motives, or phrases by gradual, very refined, microtonal, non-chromatic increments, settling on new pitch areas that directly reflect the previous areas, just modulated up or town. The movement ends softly with a virtual desaturation of the rhythmic material. I remove notes, one by one, until there’s nothing left.
The second movement, Rigor Mortis, is inspired by a comic strip by David Lynch that newspapers ran for many years. In this strip, Lynch sketched a stressed-out, pitch-black dog, looking very mean and almost buzzing with anger; it looked like it was about to explode. Every strip began with an accompanying paragraph that read, “The dog who is so angry he cannot move. He cannot eat. He cannot sleep. He can just barely growl. Bound so tightly with tension and anger, he approaches the state of rigor mortis.” This made me envision musicians playing with such ferocity and tension that the music seems to eventually cancel itself out, anger imploding in on itself. The movement begins with loud barking, represented by scratch tones on the strings. It then moves to a section representing the insane, growling dog running in circles. Next, there is a section inspired by some of the philosophical sentences Lynch used in this comic strip series. Then we hear the dog barking again, but he hears a familiar theme reminding him of his long lost love, so he simmers down for a bit. However, he soon remembers his predicament and becomes angry again. The movement ends with more furious barking: he is overcome by distilled tension, imploding inward with a final, loud, buzzing unison tremolo.
The third movement, Dolente, is sad, lush, and mournful. The only request I had when writing this quartet was to incorporate a Norwegian fiddle tune or theme by Edvard Grieg, so I chose themes from Grieg’s String Quartet No. 1. The form of this movement mimics the form of a song by Edvard Grieg’s entitled Spillemaend (Minstrels, or Fiddlers). The poem that Grieg set in 1876 as the first of Six Ibsen Songs (Op. 25) is based on the Norwegian folktale of the fossegrim, a male water spirit who could teach the art of violin-playing, but often at the price of personal happiness. In some versions of the story, the poor violinist drowns in the end. Like the song, and echoing the second movement, this movement beginning with the protagonist’s longing, his desire for the beloved. Next, he encounters the fossegrim, who promises that becoming a master of music will allow the protagonist to become master of his beloved. In the final stanza, the protagonist becomes a master fiddler, but he is now a cursed, wandering musician deprived of earthly love, so he drowns himself. As in Grieg’s work, the fossegrim is represented by tremolos, chromatic descents, unexpected dynamic contrasts, and dissonant harmonies such as fully-diminished seventh chords and augmented chords.
The humorous fourth movement, Scherzando, capitalizes on effects that at times, often make the string players sound inebriated. I make use of copious glissandi and tempos that fluctuate between 3/4 and 6/8, giving a sense of unease.
The final movement, Collage, is similar to the first movement in that it is inspired by the visual arts, and specifically, collage painting and works by surrealists. Many themes from the first four movements are brought together in this odd-metered movement.
String Quartet No. 2 commissioned by J. K. Billman and is written for and dedicated to the Euclid Quartet.
Press Quotes
“The various movements of Second Quartet are inspired by painters from Rothko to Seurat, a comic strip by David Lynch about a stressed-out dog, and a fiddle tune by Grieg, drawn together by Paterson’s quirky sonic palette that makes use of wrong-footed syncopations and extended playing techniques... Believers in the pleasure principle should try a new recording of Robert Paterson’s string quartets. [With the Indianapolis Quartet] he’s found ardent advocates for a personable brand of music-making that is fast, furious, and laced through with sardonic wit... Gloriously entertaining.”
“If you still believe that contemporary string quartets are always a tough listen then Robert Paterson String Quartets 1-3 in superb performances by the Indianapolis Quartet should change your mind... This is clearly music to be enjoyed... imaginative, hugely entertaining and quite brilliant writing, with Paterson always in total control of style and structure.”
“Probably no one else has created string quartets as irreverent as Robert Paterson’s.... As should be obvious, these are thoroughly engaging works brought vividly and vibrantly to life by the Indianapolis Quartet. Its renderings of the material are so virtuosic and enthusiastic, it would be difficult to imagine another quartet equaling those performed on the release. And how pleasing it is to see the string quartet form reinvigorated with such imagination and verve by Paterson. Other composers would do well to follow his example and consider how they too might bring fresh spins to long-established genres in their own creations.”
“If, like me, you like contemporary music that is not afraid to please while being intellectually rigorous and stimulating, you will fall under the spell of the quartets of Robert Paterson… Propulsive rhythms, exciting play of colours and textures, playing with dissonance effects like so many spices to spice up a dish, but resolutely relying on a tonal centre to keep the listener hooked, Paterson’s sound universe brings together the best in contemporary music of the American school. Better still, he is not afraid to insert quotations from popular music, thus creating surprises with a very sympathetic humorous spring.”
“All three quartets combine High Modernism with the rhythmic intensity of an ethnically charged world beyond post-understanding, and also a primal tonal radicality, and then references that channel a kind of universal Pan-Western Globality. Does that make sense? Probably not until you listen... not some typically digested generic item, that it is filled with original twists and turns, and bears attention, giving rewards for all your listening efforts with a set of gemstones, of sparkling elements across a happy beach by the water... Here is one for you if you seek adventure...”
“The Indianapolis Quartet presents the world premiere recording of composer Robert Paterson’s first three string quartets. All three highly colorful works have various similarities: they all use copious extended techniques, but not for the sake of the techniques themselves, but as an integral part of the music itself. He also uses quotes in all three works: the loveably campy “Love Boat” theme in Quartet No 1, quotes from music by Edvard Grieg in String Quartet No. 2, and snippets of various anthems in the last movement of String Quartet No. 3.”
“...modern classical appeal is quite fascinating... String Quartet No. 1 opens the listen with quivering strings that move unpredictably and with allure across the 4 chapters of tense, heartfelt and bright musicianship, and String Quartet No. 2 continues this meticulousness with intimacy and adventurousness, as both light and dark textures are explored with much depth. ”
“It’s difficult to pinpoint just what it is about Robert Paterson’s music that makes it interesting, modern and audience-friendly all at the same time. The first thing that leaps out at you, aside from his tongue-in-cheek handling of themes and fast-paced energy, is his rhythmic vitality, and I can tell you from very long experience in reviewing modern music that, except for those few composers who combined jazz elements with their music... emphasizing rhythms that average audiences can follow is a rare commodity... There are no two ways about it: Robert Paterson’s music is both modern in every respect you can think of—harmonically, rhythmically and thematically—but audience-friendly at the same time. It’s a little nutty, but the world needs more humor in classical music. We have far too much of the “oh-God-I’m-so-depressed-and-serious” type... He’s the kind of composer I wish I were if I had a single composing bone in my body.”