From Memory to History
Digital Sheet Music

Item Number: 20954185
4.9 out of 5 Customer Rating

Taxes/VAT calculated at checkout.

Share Share
String Quartet - Intermediate - Digital Download

SKU: S0.454317

Composed by Douglas DaSilva. 21st Century,Contemporary Classical,Modern,Recital. Score,Set of Parts. 16 pages. Published by Burke & Bagley (S0.454317).

From Memory to History is a short work for string quartet (4'30") with four separate solos (each ca. 30"), which may be performed together or separately.

From Memory to History was inspired by an article of the same name in the December Special Holiday 2009 issue of The Economist.  The article was about the last two surviving veterans of World War I.  Both had kept silent about the war until after their 100th birthdays when they wrote books, went on tours and told their stories.  How did these stories transform over the 80+ years that they incubated in these gentlemen’s memories?  How many stories have been mashed together over the many years: mixed facts, misplaced details; like a game of postman lasting 80 years in one person’s head?  Was there a greater truth to the stories that perhaps was not the same as the facts?

From Memory to History explores that possibility in its presentation of the facts (or, are they truths?) in different settings, dissonances and consonances.  Each instrument enters by presenting a solo interpretation of the 10-note theme.  Then each instrument treats the others player’s them as its own, entering at shorter intervals each time, creating seemingly aleatoric harmonies.  Ultimately, all of the instruments enter at the same time.

As part of the composition process, I regularly extract parts to see if they are strong enough to stand on their own.  The very nature of From Memory to History made this simple.  So I decided to also write solo versions of each part and am quite pleased with the results:  four strong “tellings” of the same story.  Four separate truths?

Videos:
Quartet:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFcq0kwDQj4

Cello Solo:  Suzanne Mueller:  https://youtu.be/haMc878cJLY
 
Viola Solo:  Midori Witkowski:  https://youtu.be/1y72-8O-Ipo
 
Violin Solo I: Daniel Mihai: https://youtu.be/_D2bMq3TKRU
 
Violin Solo II: Daniel Mihai:  https://youtu.be/ydFPx8uSwt4


About Digital Downloads

Digital Downloads are downloadable sheet music files that can be viewed directly on your computer, tablet or mobile device. Once you download your digital sheet music, you can view and print it at home, school, or anywhere you want to make music, and you don’t have to be connected to the internet. Just purchase, download and play!

PLEASE NOTE: Your Digital Download will have a watermark at the bottom of each page that will include your name, purchase date and number of copies purchased. You are only authorized to print the number of copies that you have purchased. You may not digitally distribute or print more copies than purchased for use (i.e., you may not print or digitally distribute individual copies to friends or students).