SKU: A0.799116

This arrangement of Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman? for String Quartet can also be performed with a String Trio, since the 2nd Violin part is optional.  This song was featured in the 1995 film Don Juan DeMarco, starring Johnny Depp.  It’s got a Spanish flair, which can be a lot of fun at wedding parties and receptions.

1st Violin hogs the melody, I’ll admit that.  But the 2nd Violin adds some really nice harmony, and the Viola will stay quite busy! The Cello part is essential with its hearty bass line.

One thing that sets my arrangements apart from others is that I fit all of my parts on 2 sheets of music.  This makes it so the songs can fit into a binder, without the need for flipping pages!

SKU: A0.799141

This rendition of Calum Scott’s You Are The Reason for string quartet can also be performed with a string trio, since the 2nd violin part is optional.  This song has really nice melody, and the inner voices have nice supporting harmonies.

One thing that sets my arrangements apart from others is that I fit all of my parts on no more than 2 sheets of music. This makes it so the songs can fit into a binder, without the need for flipping pages!

Another great thing (for multi-instrumental arrangements) is that I include cue lines on each part, so that every player in the ensemble can see one other person’s music at the same time. This is so amazingly useful and has saved countless performances in the past. If someone skips a beat or misses a measure, you can now see where they are and reconnect! This also helps with sight-reading and keeping the group together in general.

SKU: A0.869118

Morango ... almost a tango (1983) is the most popular piece of music from my portfolio of over 150 works!!! It is amazing that the work was conceived thirty years ago!!! Originally, it was just a 32-bar jazz tune I performed every Sunday night with the Moon Unit at the 1369 Jazz Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1980-1984. The string quartet version, although written for the Kronos Quartet, was premiered at Concert X by the Composers in Red Sneakers in Sanders Theater, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 21, 1983. The Red Sneakers String Quartet comprised of Thal Aylward, Melissa Howe, Frank Grimes and Sandy Kiefer. Richard Buell reported in the Boston Globe a few days later that the doleful Morango ... almost a tango got a lot of mileage out of a stubborn, almost unchanging cello line and the elaborations above it. The original program note read, Last summer in Vermont I met Gustavo Moretto, an Argentine composer, who taught me the finer and more beautiful aspects of the Tango. In my modest way, as someone looking in from the outside, I created Morango ... almost a tango - a bastardized version of the 'real thing.' Morango ... is also intrinsically connected to Kate Moran, a sometimes painter ... to whom it is dedicated. The work is played con sordino throughout. I hope the sirens next door don't intrude too much. But then again, John Cage would be delighted. Eventually, the Kronos got around to performing it on tour in Europe in 1986. When they played it as an encore in Italy at the American Academy in Rome, Mya Tannenbaum of the Corriere Della Sera wrote, Non sono mancati i bis. Un richiamo al sex appeal del vecchio tango da parte di un giovane «premio Roma», Tom Lee. Soon after, back in the States, the Kronos performed it at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. John Rockwell wrote in the New York Times, ... a soulfully beautiful score by Thomas Oboe Lee. Three months later the Kronos recorded it on their Nonesuch CD, White Man Sleeps. Many other string quartets, both here and abroad, have since added the work to their repertory. The Lydian String Quartet, especially, have taken the work on their concert tours in the United States, Europe and the former Soviet Union. It appears on a CD recorded by the Lyds in Moscow on MCA Classics. As interest in the work grew, other ensembles have requested arrangements of Morango ... There are now three other versions of the work: one for big band jazz ensemble by Ken Schaphorst, another for string orchestra commissioned by Aram Gharabekian and Sinfonova, and the third for violin and piano commissioned by the Paul Chou-Paul Salerni Duo. Of the string orchestra version, Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe wrote, Lee's piece, Morango ... almost a tango, is a transcription of atmospheric and elegant music originally composed for string quartet; it is as sultry as Faith Domergue in a film noir, and it steams.

Audio link: https://thomasoboelee.bandcamp.com/album/morango-almost-a-tango-1983

Video link: https://youtu.be/Ksd9mDtRSBU

SKU: A0.1074907

Composed by Joshua A. Idio. Chamber Music. String Quartet. This is a two-movement piece comprising of a prelude and an allegro. The entire piece is meant to convey a simple story of witnessing the change of different lifestyles, from the peaceful and simple rural life to the electrifying grandeur of urban city life. The prelude, signifying the rural atmosphere, begins with unsettling chords that feel seasonal and constantly moving. The different string melodies are as lovingly soothing as playing in the grassy fields and mountains. They are fun, pleasant, and whimsical, and they express the rather playful and tranquil setting of rural living. The beginning chords may feel unusually active, but it also adds to the color of this calming tranquility. Life couldn't be any better. In contrast to the fun and joyful theme of the prelude, the allegro embodies the absolute hustle and bustle of the big city. Explosive harmonies progress through the movement. Melodies from the prelude now intertwine with this new faster theme, playing more lively and vigorous. The mood has changed. Everything seems fast-paced and maybe overloading. But, maybe that's not a bad thing. A bit into the movement, as the hustle and bustle finally slow down, the essence of the prelude returns to calm the music. Homesickness mixed with overwhelming emotions is just as powerful of an expression as joy or anger. Filled with confidence and resolve, the music quickens back into its fast theme. The nature of intense focus, inspired by the urban surroundings, mixes with the joy and fun of the old ways. Everything now seems not just more familiar and comforting, but lively as well. As the music reaches its end, those unsettling chords from the prelude return to once again remind us that the rural lifestyle will always be a part of us. Maybe this city life won't be such a bad thing. We experience the best life when it comes with change. While I never lived in a rural community myself, I can empathize with the experience of people who have from their own stories and emotions. And when they move into the overwhelming cityscape, they sometimes either break down or build up. In the end, though, I can never really understand what it is like until I move into a rural community. But I know nothing will ever change how they grew up there, as the experiences always seem to follow them into the next chapter of their adventures. And it is because of that kind of beautiful resolve, did I nickname this Prelude and Allegro Urbanalia. When life meets change it opens up a whole new story.

SKU: A0.1128955

Released by Starship in 1987 as a single from their second album, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now is an epic power ballad that soon became a smash hit with audiences and critics alike. Not only did the song top the charts in four different countries, it was also chosen as the theme for the major motion picture Mannequin and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. So you really can't go wrong having this one in your gig books! Originally written for a wedding, this Cellobat arrangement for your string quartet features the soaring melodies, beautiful harmonies, and driving beat of the original for a chart that your audience is sure to love. Rated advanced-intermediate for a few tricky rhythms, this will be learnable for students and sightreadable for professionals.

Sarah “Cellobat� Chaffee is an in-demand acoustic & electric cellist and string arranger. Currently, she performs with legendary rock band Aerosmith in their “Deuces Are Wild� residency show, and she is the principal cellist for the Raiders House Band, playing for a crowd of 60,000 at all of the team's home games. She also plays with many other groups including Premiere Wedding Music, Bella Electric Strings, the Femmes Of Rock, and David Perrico’s Pop Strings Orchestra. Sarah has performed and recorded with numerous other artists including Disturbed, Mötley Crüe, Celine Dion, Halsey, Michael Bublé, Sarah Brightman, and Lady A. She is the exclusive arranger for a number of award-winning wedding and event companies all across the United States, including Premiere Wedding Music, Las Vegas Music Oasis, and Impulse Strings, and she has created custom arrangements for many other ensembles all over the world. You can find her at:

http://www.cellobat.com
http://www.instagram.com/cellobat
https://www.youtube.com/@Cellobat.

SKU: A0.799126

Thank you for downloading my String Quartet arrangement of Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You. This can also be performed with a String Trio, since the 2nd Violin part is optional. Your audience will really enjoy this one. It’s so popular at weddings that we often have listeners singing right along! The 1st Violin and Viola trade-off the melody here, but everyone has fun.

One thing that sets my arrangements apart from others is that I fit all of my parts on 2 sheets of music. This makes it so the songs can fit into a binder, without the need for flipping pages! Another great thing (for multi-instrumental arrangements) is that I include cue lines on each part, so that every player in the ensemble can see one other person’s music at the same time. This is so amazingly useful and has saved countless performances in the past. If someone skips a beat or misses a measure, you can now see where they are and reconnect! This also helps with sight-reading and keeping the group together in general.

SKU: A0.836707

What’s Christmas without a few toys?

Here is a new suite of older carols for string quartet in which each musician is required to play a wee bit of percussion in addition to his or her real instrument. The potential for entertaining visual theater is nearly as high as the potential for mishap. (If all goes according to plan, nothing should actually go airborne.)

This is something of a sequel to my earlier Christmas quartet And Therefore Be Merry, which has never been out of print since it was first published over twenty years ago. But where that work was a continuous medley, this is a set of independent and more fully developed movements, each able to stand on its own.

As mentioned above, each member of the quartet is responsible for a small item of percussion. These are all things which could readily be found in a local school band room: a triangle, a tambourine, a suspended cymbal - played with a soft (yarn) stick - and a small frame drum, played with the bare hand.

These are all earlier, earthier carols than what one typically finds on the radio or playing over the speakers at the mall. They include Gloucestershire Wassail, Riu Riu Chiu, Angelus ad Virginem, The Sans Day Carol, The Wexford Carol, and Masters in This Hall. Being perhaps less familiar, they bring a welcome respite from the overworked seasonal fare we all hear a bit too much of each year. They speak of simpler times, and of a far less frantic approach to Christmas. These fresh and inventive arrangements will make a useful addition to a quartet’s repertoire, provided the players have the requisite spirit of adventure.

Score and Parts total 67 pages. Performance time is about 14 minutes.