Oscar Bianchi, « Sintonía », string quartet no 3

Oscar Bianchi

SINTONÍA string quartet no.3

score

Oscar Bianchi

SINTONÍA string quartet no.3

Commissioned by Radio France Muziekgebouw Amsterdam Essen Philarmonie Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Transit Festival Leuven with support from Pro Helvetia, International Music Council and SACEM

First performance: 08 February 2020 Festival Présences, Paris

Quatuor Diotima

© 2020 Editions Durand, Paris, FRANCE Tous droits réservés pour tous pays All rights reserved version of 28 July 2020 D F 16633

Composer’s note

Accidentals are always valid until the end of the measure and exclusively for the specific pitch (not on other octaves). Altered pitches might be sometimes respelled within the measure for cautionary purposes. Trills: unless differently specified the auxiliary note is always a step above the main note, see example below.

Trill



 

Realization





  



  



  



  





LEGEND

µ#˜

quarter tone higher, sharp, three quarter tones higher

B b Bb

quarter tone lower, flat, three quarter tones lower

k 2µ l

eight tone up (natural, quarter, sharp)

p

crescendo dal niente decrescendo dal niente highest pitch available glissandos should always start immediately, and they should be played as continuous and as even as possible

sp = sul ponticello msp = molto sul ponticello st = sul tasto ast = alto sul tasto mst = molto sul tasto pst = poco sul tasto clb = col legno battuto mv = molto vibrato xv = extreme vibrato (very wide vibrato, minimum fifth wide) P spazz = spazzolato, rapidly alternate between the two following positions: T and P (ast and msp) T w.n. « white noise » : “tonelos”, bow right over the bridge cls = « col legno slide », slide the bow along the string † or p.r. = « press ricochet ». Press the bow into the string and get as many bounces as possible (similar to percussions press roll or multiple bounce roll technique) † clb = « press ricochet col legno battuto» f.p. « flanger pizz » : after executing a left hand pizzicato, immediately approach the surface of the metal part of the frog (or the wooden tip of the bow when requested) against the vibrating string, always leading the bow from moltissimo sul ponticello towards alto sul tasto. The flanger effect is created by quickly “intercepting” the vibrating string and therefore creating a “wah-wah” effect by approaching the bow's metal (or the bow’s wooden tip) against the vibrating string. Use the entire length of each duration to gradually and profoundly venture from msp to ast.

art One string scordatura down a ¼-tone.

urioso! Enjoy the few moments of respite, bringing out warmth and lyricism of line, looking towards the second part of the work. « continuos ricochet » : let the bow bounce fast and homogeneously in order to produce an almost helicopter or engine-like rhythm, never letting the sound break. The general motion of the bouncing bow should be from tasto p-bow double harmonic trill on III/IV, played with varying degrees of sul pont. Distorted trills always sul pont exploring layers of overtones – towards ponticello ring out relative differentiation of pitch, tracing a quasi-melodic line up and down the II/IV strings. Trill the double harmonics always very « Formantic noise-skratch » : regluar, pinch and lift IV string possible pinch fingers bow hair aswith well).

Then slide vertically fast and alternating upper(ifand lower trilling (1/2 2/3).

Play where possiblefrom with fast andneed fluidto up-bow Harmonic nodes or contact points are givenwhich in the is part/score. ponticello sul tasto (no press gesture. very hard) in order to produce a scratchy sound noisy andA chart below shows actual sounding pitches of harmonics. Exact pitches are not critical, and it should be added that characterised by a distinctive iridescent variation of the formants. sul pont creates additional layers of overtones. Glissandi are very fluid. The short-note interjections of « col legno slide » : slide vertically the strings, stick ofchords, the bow (col legno)harmonics, over the string towards the melodic scroll: you single tones, open also chordal trace an elongated lineshould which is at times reflected in the orchestra. hear two glissando sounds. The stick of the bow should lay lightly on the string (it works best to use the higher half of the bow-stick) « harmonic glissando »: starting from the highest pitch available, glissando the from lightly touched to press, while bow pressure changes from ordinario to over pressured

art Two e-tune to D-natural.

#œ

œ

œ

∏∏∏∏∏∏

&

∏∏∏∏∏∏

broken tremolo:

∏∏∏∏∏∏

° 5 œ ™™ & 8 #œ ™

∏∏∏∏∏∏

estrained but expressive. Five fragments of an extended melodic line thread through the orchestral textures. ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ The line is always in motion # œœœinto œœœ silence. œœœ œœœ ° # œœ ™ drawn out of and disappearing œ

as fast as possible towards the frog The overall effect creates a quasi-static multiphonic. Double, triple or quadruple chords combine open strings, open-string/harmonic trills and stopped tones. Fast string crossings - explore with varying bow pressure and changing bow strokes, avoiding cliché arpeggios I-IV-I. Varying degrees of sul pont creates additional layers of overtones. pen-string/harmonic trills immediately as fast asbow: possible, remain very fast, continous and regular. Build up playing all three strings. fromand ordinario to overpressure ring out the harmonics more than the open strings. Noteheads in brackets add last and play less often.

« Harmonic glissando » : gradually move from lightly touched to pressed.

atural harmonics: Natural harmonics for G string (Violin and Viola. By transposition values are valid for all strings):

Cello « multi-phonics»: created when the finger splits the string in between two natural harmonics in the strings overtone series. Always use harmonic finger pressure. The accidentals used relay to vague geographical locations on the instrument concerning the finger position, therefore the number of partials that the multiphonics lie between is indicated. « multi-phonics beyond bow »: fingers are positioned beyond the bow (between the bow and bridge). Oscillate between the different near harmonics, a shadow of the fundamental (C2) should appear every now and then (overall somehow always present). Aim therefore to an always rich and complex texture, clearly hinting to the indicated harmonics but always encompassing a generous mix of three element: harmonics, fundamental and “parasite” frequencies (the beats that result by the frictions and closeness of the near harmonics). Bow pressure is extremely important as its weight along with the string's density affects the resulting sound.

Duration: circa 16 minutes

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