Fiery earth (Terra encesa) string quartet (2024)

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Fiery earth for string quartet is dedicated to Cuarteto Casals who co-commissioned this work jointly with the Fundacio del Orfeo Catala – Palau de la Musica Catalana. Cuarteto Casals will premiere Fiery earth on March 19, 2025, at the Palau de la Musica Catalana.

Fiery earth is an homage to the creative power of the earth, an entity envisioned as a live organism, with its repetitive cycles of transformation and regeneration. The formal structure is a loosely constructed, one-movement passacaglia based on a three-bar ostinato reminiscent of Gregorian chant. This ostinato is varied and develops throughout the piece, continuously progressing in tempo and dynamics towards a dramatic finale. This thematic development is a ‘metaphor’ for the earth’s transformations although this work is not programmatic. The musical language is modal/tonal with some harmonic references to the music of Spain although integrated within an international musical idiom.

©2024 by Elisenda Fabregas

Published by Hidden Oaks Music Co.

 

Quintet for piano & string quartet (2024)

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Quintet for piano and string quartet was commissioned by the Palau de la Musica Catalana and dedicated to Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko and the Atenea Quartet. My intention was to write a quintet of four movements, to complement the limited repertoire of quintets currently being performed, by venturing into a more Mediterranean sound world that integrates various influences, from Spanish and Catalan popular music, especially in the second (Scherzo) and fourth movements (Rondo) – which is based on the Catalan folk song ‘El petit vailet’- to the more austere and modal sound world of the first movement (Allegro energico) and the denser texture of the third movement (Ballade) rooted in romanticism. The quintet has a cyclical structure, all movements are linked by developing melodic and rhythmic patterns, introduced in the first movement, ‘Allegro energico’. The third movement is connected to the fourth and performed without a break. ©2024 Elisenda Fabregas.

Published by Hidden Oaks Music Corp. Available for sale at the end of 2024.

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