Fiery earth (Terra encesa) string quartet (2024)

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.