String Quartet No. 3 (Hill)

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Alfred Hill composed his String Quartet No. 3 in A minor "The Carnival", Stiles 1.2.3.3 SQ3,[1] in 1912,[2] while he was a member of the Austral String Quartet.[3] The manuscript score is preserved in the National Library of Australia.[4] In 1955, Hill transformed the quartet into his Symphony No. 5.[3][5] The quartet is composed in four movements with an average duration of 20 minutes.[6]

Background[edit]

Born in 1870 in Australia (and raised in New Zealand), Alfred Hill was brought up in a rich musical environment; his father was both a hatter and a skilled violinist who often encouraged singing in the household.[7] Hill began playing cornet and toured with the Simonsen Opera Company before switching to violin and viola as his primary instruments.[7] He went on to study at Leipzig Conservatory in 1887, studying violin under Hans Sitt and composition under Gustav Schreck.[7] Additionally, he studied under music scholar Oscar Paul, who, alongside nationalist composers like Dvořák, likely influenced Hill's fascination with the Māori music he incorporated into much of his compositions.[8]

Hill was heavily involved in chamber music performance, serving as a member of the Staell String Quartet from 1897-1899, the Austral String Quartet from 1911-1913 (during which time his String Quartet No. 3 was written), and the Conservatorium String Quartet from 1923-1933.[9] While Hill composed 17 string quartets across his career, Nos. 1, 2, and 11 were most frequently performed and were the only ones published in his lifetime.[9] His first three string quartets were composed by 1914, and the others from 1918-1938, many of which were later recomposed as symphonies, with form, melody, and harmony remaining largely unchanged in the recompositions.[10] His String Quartet No. 3 was recomposed in 1955 as his Symphony No. 5 in A minor, "The Carnival," in which the slow movement and the scherzo are in the opposite order compared to the string quartet.[3][11]

Analysis[edit]

The title "Carnival or A Student in Italy for String Quartet" appears on the front page of the manuscript.[4] The quartet is in four movements (discrepancies in titles exist between sources; the alternative titles listed below are found in the Allan Stiles catalogue of Hill's music[1] and in the manuscript score held in the National Library of Australia[4]):

I. In the streets. Allegro con fuoco[12][edit]

(Alternative titles: In the Streets — A Merry March[1]/ In the Streets[4])

The first movement is in sonata form.[13] Across his 17 string quartets, Hill uses a standard treatment of sonata form in outer movements, sometimes with an added slow introduction.[13] The primary theme is introduced by the first violin in the key of A minor (i) and is declamatory in style.[13] The contrasting secondary theme in C major (III) is lyrical and is also introduced by the first violin.[13]

II. Andantino[12][edit]

(Alternative titles: In the Studio — Serious Moods[1]/ Away from the Madding Crowd[4])

The second movement is in rounded binary form (ABA1).[13] The A section appears in D major (I), the B section goes into E minor (ii) and A major (V), and the repeated A section returns back in D major (I).[13] The first violin introduces the melody and carries the bulk of the melodic material throughout the movement, with a full chordal texture in the accompaniment and short countermelodies.[6]

III. Scherzo[12][edit]

(Alternative titles: In the Country — Dances on the Green[1]/ Dancing on the Green[4])

The third movement is the ternary form of a scherzo and trio, with the scherzo section in A major (I) and the trio section in D major (IV), returning to the scherzo and a short coda in A major (I).[13] Again, the melody is introduced by the first violin, then is passed through the ensemble within the scherzo, first to the second violin, then to the viola and cello in octaves.[6] Within the trio section, the melody is shared between the two violins.[6]

IV. Finale. Allegro moderato[12][edit]

(Alternative titles: Finale — The Carnival[1]/ Carnival — Procession of Priests — The Street Singer[4])

The fourth movement is in sonata form.[13] Hill uses the same key structure as in the first movement, with the primary theme in A minor (i) and secondary theme in C major (III).[13] The primary theme (introduced by both violins) is folk-like, and the secondary theme (introduced by the first violin) is lyrical.[13]

Reception and legacy[edit]

Some of Hill's string quartets, such as his String Quartet No. 2 in G minor, were premiered by the Austral String Quartet, of which Hill was a member at the time.[8] Outside of these performances, spanning from 1939-1959, there were four public concerts consisting entirely of Hill's work.[14] Additionally, with the foundation of the Australian Broadcasting Company in 1939, Hill's music became more widely heard, though only a very limited selection of his work was aired.[14]

The complete 17 string quartets were not recorded until 2008-2015, when the Dominion String Quartet released the complete set under the NAXOS label, suggesting that they have not been very well-known.[15] The Dominion String Quartet's recording of Quartet No. 3 (released along with recordings of Hill's first two quartets) is just over 20 minutes in duration.[6]

Editions[edit]

  • Alfred Hill. String Quartet No.3 in A Minor "The Carnival". Narara, N.S.W.: Stiles Music Publications, 2005 (ISMN 979-0-720029-73-3)

Recordings[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Allan Stiles. A Catalogue of the Music of Alfred Hill
  2. ^ Donald Maurice. Booklet notes to Naxos 8.570491
  3. ^ a b c Keith Anderson. Booklet notes to Naxos 8.223538
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Catalogue entrance in the National Library of Australia
  5. ^ Rhoderick McNeill (23 March 2016). The Australian Symphony from Federation to 1960. Routledge. pp. 99–. ISBN 978-1-317-04087-3.
  6. ^ a b c d e "HILL, Alfred: String Quartets, Vol. 1 (Dominion String Quartet) - Nos. 1, 2, 3".
  7. ^ a b c Thomson, John Mansfield (1993). "Hill, Alfred Francis". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  8. ^ a b Lam, Y. C. (2006, June). Analytical study of Alfred Hill’s String Quartet no. 2 in G minor (Thesis, Master of Arts). University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/128
  9. ^ a b Rogers, Melissa; Mora, Manolete (2018). Revisiting Alfred Hill (1869–1960): Examining Issues of Reception and Compositional Approach. University of New South Wales. Arts and Media. OCLC 1089650042.
  10. ^ Thomson, J.M. (1970). ""The Role of the Pioneer Composer: Some Reflections on Alfred Hill, 1870–1960"". Studies in Music. 4: 52–61.
  11. ^ "HILL: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 10".
  12. ^ a b c d "Alfred Hill - String Quartet No.3". www.stilesmusicpublications.com. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rogers, Melissa; Mora, Manolete (2018). Revisiting Alfred Hill (1869–1960): Examining Issues of Reception and Compositional Approach. University of New South Wales. Arts and Media. OCLC 1089650042.
  14. ^ a b "The composers and their work". Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. 1969.
  15. ^ Rogers, Melissa; Mora, Manolete (2018). Revisiting Alfred Hill (1869–1960): Examining Issues of Reception and Compositional Approach. University of New South Wales. Arts and Media. OCLC 1089650042.
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