Writing A Stringsextet Can Be Like Writing For Two String-trios

Sometimes it takes bravery to be a composer, I realize that now. But it has taken me fifty years to figure out that. The first composition, which was a Swedish folk tune called Vispolska from Ålsta, was composed on a week of learning Swedish traditional folk tunes, songs, and dance. It was where my musical dreams started to grow, and I could see myself working with music, preferably composing. But coming here, well, it has been a crooked way, to say the least. But that's a story for another post.

The Stringsextet No. I

I have in my Dropbox saved a lot of templates for coming compositions, and writing for a stringsextet wasn't one of the first things I had planned to finish this year. But, alas, there it was, ready to write down and publish.

The traditional way to compose with three or four movements would be to start with a fast movement, but here I have chosen to start with an Adagio movement, with a similar tonality to the Im Memoriam piece. The phatos are clear and I wrote this movement end of last year. So it's much earlier than the Im Memoriam piece.

The second movement is a playful Pizzicato piece with playfulness, vigor, and bravery. I wrote this movement in two sittings in Creativeworkhour, and I hope that it will give people much joy listening to it. And it moves effortlessly over to the third movement.

The third movement is also an Adagio, which starts with a pizzicato in violas and Cellos accompanying an octave theme in the violins. That embryo of a theme is what gives this last movement its energy and feeds the composition, evolving its Siciliano character that leads it forward. There's even a short canon-like passage in it, so listen closely so you don't miss anything.

The composition has a total duration of about eleven minutes and you can find it here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4OoCk3FRMnOVbjnO35Gy1W?si=0e3d83b68a474cc7

YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m2G95bWglCWo66Tucc3_Wy6sAbSDOOX6U&si=MljQ32mn_CY7r8f8