String Quartet No. 2 (Haas)
Encyclopedia
Pavel Haas
composed his second string quartet, Op. 7, titled "From the Monkey Mountains" (Czech
: "Z opičích hor"), in 1925, three years after he finished his composition studies in Leoš Janáček
´s masterclass.
(Moravian Highlands), an area once popular with tourists. The work was premièred in Brno
on 16 March, 1926, by the Moravian Quartet. The first performance was not well received, however: in the last movement, Haas added a percussionist, in combination with other unusual musical elements, and this daring experiment was not appreciated by the audience. Haas subsequently removed the percussion, though several modern performances and recordings have reinstated it.
:
The titles of the four movements give the impression of a series of atmospheric scenes from a summer recreation. The first part opens in a calm atmosphere, and gradually develops into a monumental movement with a rich onomatopoeic structure. The opening theme and tempo of the second movement are closely related to that of the first one, evoking the coach, coachman and horse of the title. The third part, "Moon and I..." is the most personal movement of the composition, with a festive climax followed by a return to the atmosphere and material of the opening movement. The closing movement uses folk melodies mixed with jazz elements and with unusual application of the percussion instruments.
The approximate duration of the work is 32 minutes.
Pavel Haas
Pavel Haas was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not large, he is notable particularly for his song cycles and string quartets.-Pre-war:Haas...
composed his second string quartet, Op. 7, titled "From the Monkey Mountains" (Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
: "Z opičích hor"), in 1925, three years after he finished his composition studies in Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
´s masterclass.
Background
The title of the quartet is somewhat provocative: in the Czech language, the "Monkey Mountains" used to be the nickname of the Vysočina RegionVysocina Region
Vysočina Region , is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located partly in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia and partly in the south-west of the historical region of Moravia...
(Moravian Highlands), an area once popular with tourists. The work was premièred in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
on 16 March, 1926, by the Moravian Quartet. The first performance was not well received, however: in the last movement, Haas added a percussionist, in combination with other unusual musical elements, and this daring experiment was not appreciated by the audience. Haas subsequently removed the percussion, though several modern performances and recordings have reinstated it.
Structure
The composition consists of four movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- 1. Landscape (Krajina) - Andante
- 2. Coach, Coachman and Horse (Kočár, kočí a kůň) - Andante
- 3. The Moon and I... (Měsíc a já...) - Largo e misterioso
- 4. Wild Night (Divá noc) - Vivace e con fuoco
The titles of the four movements give the impression of a series of atmospheric scenes from a summer recreation. The first part opens in a calm atmosphere, and gradually develops into a monumental movement with a rich onomatopoeic structure. The opening theme and tempo of the second movement are closely related to that of the first one, evoking the coach, coachman and horse of the title. The third part, "Moon and I..." is the most personal movement of the composition, with a festive climax followed by a return to the atmosphere and material of the opening movement. The closing movement uses folk melodies mixed with jazz elements and with unusual application of the percussion instruments.
The approximate duration of the work is 32 minutes.