October 19, 2024
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas – USA
Joel Link & Bryan Lee, violins; Julianne Lee, viola; Camden Shaw, cello.
Jessie MONTOMERY: Strum
Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ TATE: Woodland Songs
PURA FÉ/arr. Tate: Rattle Songs
Antonín DVOŘÁK: String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 (“American.”)
Gregory Sullivan Isaacs | 23 OCT 2024
The Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, under the artistic direction of the virtuoso violinist Gary Levinson, presented a surprise concert. The Dover Quartet, universally lauded as one of the premier such ensembles, kicked off their tour of commissioned world premiere performances in Fort Worth’s Modern Art Museum on Saturday, October 19.
The program got off to an energetic start with Strum, a work by composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery. Originally written for a quintet made up of all cellos, she reworked the music for the traditional string quartet in 2008, with further revisions made in 2012. This exciting work pulses with energy created by overlaying rhythmic layers and melodic fragments. There are some striking pizzicato passages that may have given the work its title. Montgomery builds the excitement right to the end.
Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate (credit: Shevaun Williams)
The central piece of the afternoon was a new work by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. Woodland Songs is a five-part composition for string quartet that paints a sonic picture of animals that represent the clans of the Eastern Woodlands people of the Chickasaw tradition: “Squirrel,” “Bird,” “Deer,” “Fish,” and “Raccoon.” It is filled with both traditional and less frequently used string effects, from aggressive pizzicato to glassy harmonics. He also uses sul ponticello, creating a raspy sound by playing with the bow drawn over the bridge, sul tasto, playing with the bow over the fingerboard (which produces a hauntingly ethereal sound), and aggressive bowing for growly emphasis.
Tate’s music cleverly describes the animals, drawing on Native American folk music. “Squirrel” is fast and scampering, “Bird” flutters its feathers, “Deer,” the most reflective and melodic movement calms things down, “Raccoon” returns to high energy writing, and “Fish” is filled with the water sounds of waves. Tate ends with a coda imbued with the full-out energy of the human animal – a Warrior Dance.
The overall impression of Woodland Songs is one of restless excitement, rhythmic complexity, and unfamiliar sounds produced by unusual ways of playing the instruments. Repeated patterns (ostinati) abound, tremolos are used to build dynamics, unison playing appears, as does the hollow sound of open strings, and complex bitonal chords are created by double and triple stops.
Don’t expect any soaring melodies. They are not part of the Chickasaw folk materials that Tate uses, but the independence of the four musical lines is evident throughout. This starts at, well, the start, with the scherzo-like opening of “Squirrel.” It is given to the second violin, which is usually relegated to a more supporting function.
Rattle Songs was next. Here, Tate arranged songs for string quartet composed by the singer, composer, dancer, slide guitarist, and member of the Tuscarora (Iroquois) Tribe, Pura Fé. They were originally conceived for her trio of acapella women singers, Ulau, and released in 1994 on a recording titled Mahk Jchi (“Heartbeat Drum Song”). Tate arranged seven of the ten songs from the album for string quartet, in his recognizable compositional voice.
However, probably because of the vocal nature of the original material, he incorporates slides, drones, and tonal chorale-like settings of melodic materials. In some ways, Rattle Songs was less challenging listening for the audience, while retaining Tate’s distinctive compositional voice.
After intermission, the listening got easier with Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s much loved String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Opus 96, commonly entitled “The American.” It was written in 1893 while the composer was living in New York City as the director of the ill-fated National Conservatory of Music of America.
Dvořák was not happy being away from his native Czech Republic and thus spent the summer of 1893 in Spillville, Iowa (definitely worth a visit). This is a small town filled with Czech people, and the composer felt very much at home. While there, he wrote his New World Symphony, a quintet, and this quartet.
Dvořák much admired Afro-American music, especially the spirituals, and it became a hallmark of his compositional style. He famously said in an interview for The New York Herald: “In the Negro melodies of America I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.” Part of this admiration is that this genre has a lot in common with Czech music, namely in the use of the pentatonic scale which opens the quartet.
It was in the impeccable performance of Dvořák’s quartet that the glory of the Dover Quartet was revealed to all in attendance. It was evident why BBC Music Magazine named them one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years. Formed in 2008, they are in residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. While there were many wonderful moments to mention, the bottom line is that this performance of Dvořák’s quartet was astounding.
The hallmarks of a fine quartet are intonation, balance, and ensemble. These three very challenging elements were sheer perfection. One noticeable detail of their playing, and one that is rarely heard, is the artful modification of vibrato to add color to the individual phrases. Further, their concept of the music was utterly unified, and the four players meshed with aplomb. A better performance is hard to imagine. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Dover Quartet: doverquartet.com
- Jessie Montgomery: jessiemontgomery.com
- Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate: jerodtate.com
- Zee Zee: purafe.com
- Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth: cmsfw.org
Read more by Gregory Sullivan Isaacs.
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