Silhouette for string quartet
Publisher: C. Alan Publications (2012)
Composed: 2006
Duration: 2’45”
Difficulty: Medium
PHYSICAL COPY

The title of this work, Silhouette, is taken from my idea to create a short piece in the style of Mozart or Haydn, but certainly not an exact picture. Set in a moderate 2/4 time and opening with the primary melodic statement in the cello, the piece develops quickly into a cannon as a new voice enters every eight bars. After a brief interlude of trading sixteenth notes between voices, the original statement returns for development before moving into a contrasting 3/8 section. An accompanimental ostinato is established in the cello and viola over which the violins play in thirds. This new idea is taken over by the lower voices as the violins accompany with sixteenth-note arpeggiated figures. The original material returns via another interlude for a final statement and brief coda.  This piece in an excellent selection for intermediate high school string quartet performance.