Notturno from String Quartet No. 2 ("And This Is My Beloved") String Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

     Borodin wrote his String Quartet No. 2 in 1881. Sixty-five years later, the Charlie Spivak Orchestra recorded "Spring Magic," a song credited to William Engvick, Bert Reisfeld and Alec Wilder, that used the theme of the quartet’s third movement for its melody. But the better known adaptation was created in 1953 when Robert Wright and George Forrest used it for "And This Is My Beloved," a song for their Broadway highly successful musical Kismet. The song was subsequently recorded by a number of well known vocalists. Additionally, the quartet’s third-movement theme has been used in several other movies since then.     Titled "Notturno," the third movement of Quartet No. 2 is, of course, written for a string foursome but also sits well with brass quintet and it is a beautiful melody to play. This arrangement follows Borodin’s score closely, but lowers the key from A to C, taking advantage of the warmer sound of (and greater accessibility for!) brass instruments.     The opening tempo is marked "Andante" but later speeds up slightly with a "più mosso" indication. Later still, when the main theme is reintroduced, the tempo again slows to "Tempo I." Except for frequent grace notes, there are no out-of-the-ordinary rhythmic figures. For the most part, all instruments play well within their most comfortable playing range. Tuba has some F notes below its staff; Trumpet 1 has one A note above its staff; and Trombone, one F above its staff.         The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge; contact him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box.