String Quartet String Quartet - Digital Download SKU: A0.980596 Composed by William Grosvenor Neil. Contemporary. Score and parts. 81 pages. TheComposerStudio.Com, LLC #6565287. Published by TheComposerStudio.Com, LLC (A0.980596). Sacrum Creaturae (2019) (score and parts) for string quartet and digital acoustic commissioned and premiered August 18th, 2021 at the Stringwood Chamber Music Festival by the Artaria String Quartet, profiles three endangered creatures: wolves, dolphins, and birds in the three movements of this string quartet. Each of the digital acoustics, the recorded and processed sounds of wolves, dolphins, and birds, explore the sounds of these creatures from three perspectives. Canis Lupus-Nocturne developed through the exploration of wolf howls, growls, snarls, barks, and choruses. My goal in integrating the sounds of wolves with the string quartet was to make them equally passionate and expressive driving the dynamic and emotional climaxes of the music with equal intensity. Programatically, I have placed the wolves deep in the forest, in an environment that allows the string quartet to evoke the mystery and primal energy associated with these animals. I make musical references to the controversy of re-introducing these animals in the wild and the history of violent annihilation by hunters. Delphinus-Cradlesong comprises the slow, middle movement of this piece. The cradlesong is literal and is inspired by the recent discovery by marine scientists that a mother dolphin will sing to its unborn calf so that it bonds with the mother and is familiar with her voice after birth. I have essentially orchestrated my Cradlesong for solo piano for string quartet and the whistling sounds of a mother dolphin singing to its calf. The final movement, 21 Birds, incorporates the bird calls of 21 birds in the Driftless region of the upper Mississippi, integrated with the thematic music of the string quartet. I treat the birds as 21 soloists and as an orchestra of birds accompanying the quartet. In the performance with the quartet, I have employed various special effects, such as reverberation, echo, and delay to blend the two acoustics. Parts rental for performance including the digital acoustic files and support http://www.thecomposerstudio.com/chamber-music/#tab-13006 Inquires at: thecomposerstudio@gmail.com.
