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TALICH QUARTET
The
Adagio
is vaguely reminiscent of the Andante Cantabile in Mozart’s
‘Dissonance’ Quartet (K465). Like the first movement, it is divided into three
sections. The first, in E major, includes three contrasting musical ideas: a lyrical
motif played by the four voices, a motif with a marked rhythm, and a singing
melody played by the first violin and accompanied by energetic triplets. The second
section, in E minor, reuses this material. The cello and violin play a sweet melody in
the high range at the beginning of the third section.
The
Scherzo Allegro
, in three, features a pizzicato line played by the lower voices, and
which is constantly interrupted by the melody. The Trio is entirely different: here a
drone accompanies a folk-like melody.
The
Vivace
again contains three sections. Each of the sections is linked to the others
by a motif that is employed in a variety of ways. The first violin then intones a lively
melody. The same melody is heard, this time in a minor key, after a general pause.
The first violin and the cello provide a loud and tumultuous accompaniment to the
melody played by one of the middle voices; this tune reappears in inversion and is
heard again in a sort of stretto.