Orchestration for the String Quartet
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Orchestration for the String Quartet
Robert Hasegawa (McGill University) [PI] with Jimmie Leblanc (Université de Montréal) and external collaborators the Quatuor Bozzini (Isabelle Bozzini, Stéphanie Bozzini, Alissa Cheung, Clemens Merkel).
Description:
Orchestration for the String Quartet:
Workshop and Concert with the Quatuor Bozzini
The term "orchestration" is rarely used in reference to the string quartet, but when we define it broadly (after Stephen McAdams) as "the choice, combination, and/or juxtaposition of timbres in a musical context," it becomes clear that the quartet is a rich and highly flexible vehicle for the exploration of orchestrational ideas. As an ensemble of four instruments from the same family, the quartet has an exceptional capacity for blending but can also sharply differentiate the timbres of its members when desired. As an unconducted ensemble, the string quartet depends on close non-verbal communication between its members, and quartet members are accustomed to making subtle variations in their playing to achieve timbral and orchestrational ends. The purpose of this project is to explore how composers can orchestrate for the string quartet, examining strategies for timbral blend, stratification, modulation, and contrast.
The project will bring the internationally acclaimed Quatuor Bozzini (www.quatuorbozzini.ca) together with four graduate student composers— Chelsea Komschlies (www.komschlies.com) and Marilou Buron from McGill plus two composers — Showan Tavakol and Miko Sabatino — from Université de Montréal—and four researchers (Robert Hasegawa, Jimmie LeBlanc, Jade Roth, and Emanuelle Majeau-Bettez) to test and develop strategies for timbre-based approaches to string quartet composition. Research questions will include: What kinds of orchestral textures and gestures are possible within the fixed instrumentation of the quartet? What notational strategies are most effective for communicating ideas about timbres and their combinations? What specific performance techniques and adjustments support the emergence of new timbral and orchestrational effects?
Creative outputs of the project will include four new pieces by graduate students for the Quatuor Bozzini, to be performed at a concert at the end of the project and recorded for the ACTOR website. Composers will also benefit from a pair of two-day workshops with the quartet, the first at an early stage in the composing process and the second on complete rough drafts of the scores.
Research outputs will include the thorough documentation by the researchers of the workshops, rehearsals, concert, and pre-concert roundtable, to be supplemented by interviews with both the composers and performers. Publications by the researchers will include online essays for the ACTOR Timbre and Orchestration Resource and a co-authored paper on orchestrating for string quartet to be submitted to peer-reviewed journals. The four composers will also document their projects as research-creation modules for the TOR.
During this period of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will follow all relevant university policies and take appropriate measures to ensure the health and safety of all participants