Edward Cowie: In Flight Music, String Quartets Nos. 3-5
Sheet Music

SKU: NX.NMCD222

By Kreutzer Quartet. By Edward Cowie. Classical. Listening CD. Published by NMC Recordings (NX.NMCD222).

Edward Cowie describes himself as 'the musical equivalent of a plein air visual artist', with compositions evolving from sketches or paintings done in situ. The natural world is inspiration for much of his music and on this album he focuses on flight; mainly of birds and insects. In String Quartet No. 3 'In Flight Music' he adds contrast with two flying-machine-titled movements Hang-gliders and Vapour Trails. String Quartet No.5 'Birdsong Bagatelles' features 24 brief movements, which collectively cover all the major and minor keys of the chromatic scale. Each piece is named after a bird (Wren, Blackbird, Magpie ...) but Cowie avoids the Messiaen-style approach and instead focuses on the visual displays of birds and their habitat, rather than bird song. String Quartet No.4 explores mortality. The quartet plays a continuous, slowly ascending emotional and sensual 'hill-climb', which ends with a hymn-like theme.

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