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TALICH QUARTET
The two themes - the second entrusted to the violin - are based on the pentatonic
scale; they call to mind folksongs. The violent contrast between the two themes is
moderated by the fluidity and elegance of the writing. Dvo ák constantly provides
motion and momentum until the final
fugato
. The movement evokes natural
scenery, probably the landscapes he admired in Iowa when he went out walking
with his compatriots.
The following
Lento
is based on a cantilena presented by the first violin, which is
developed following the variation principle. The music here is more reminiscent of
a Czech lullaby than of rhythms from a small town in Iowa.
In the four-minute third movement,
Molto vivace
, we find the steps of a folk dance
combined with a prayer broken by the song of the scarlet tanager (first violin). This
movement describes a series of impressions; the world presented is captivating
and at the same time tinged with nostalgia.
The finale is a joyful rondo, marked by the spirit of the dance, again played on the
first violin. The delicacy yet brightness of its colouring are hardly tempered by the
religious elements that appear in the middle of the movement (
meno mosso
). The
beauty and the humanist dimension of this score dispel all angst, preserving only
the originality of the musical language.
The String Quartet op. 96 was first performed on 1 January 1894 in Boston by the
Kneisel Quartet.