The String Quartet in D minor, (literal English translation: "Intimate voices" or "Inner voices"), Op. 56, is a five-movement chamber piece for two violins, viola, and cello written in 1909 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is the only major work for string quartet of his mature period.

History

As a student, Sibelius composed several works for string quartet. In 1885 he finished the String Quartet in E major, followed in 1889, after quite a few individual movements for this combination, by the String Quartet in A minor. The first string quartet to receive an opus number was in 1890: the String Quartet in B major (Op. 4). Afterwards he wrote no string quartets until in 1909. Composed between his Third and Fourth Symphony, it remained "the only major work for string quartet of Sibelius's mature period".

Sibelius composed the quartet from December 1908, working on it in London in early 1909. The Latin title, translating to "Intimate Voices" or "Inner voices", marks a "conversational quality" and "inwardness" of the music. The composer wrote about his work in a letter to his wife: "It turned out as something wonderful. The kind of thing that brings a smile to your lips at the hour of death. I will say no more." Sibelius showed it to his publisher Robert Lienau on 15 April 1909.

The first performance was on 25 April 1910 at the Helsinki Music Institute. A review in the Helsingin Sanomat noted: "The composition attracted a great deal of attention, and it is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant products in its field. It is not a composition for the public at large, it is so eccentric and out of the ordinary." Sibelius later wrote about the composition: "The melodic material is good but the harmonic material could be 'lighter', and even 'more like a quartet.'"

Music

Sibelius structured the quartet in five movements:

The work opens with a dialogue of violin and cello. The first movement contrasts "murmurous figuration with firm chords". The second movement is a scherzo in A major, connected to the first by musical motifs. The central slow movement has been described as a "soulful quest for serenity in F major". It contains "three detached, soft chords in E minor, remote from any of the previous harmonic implications", to which Sibelius added the "" in a friend's score. A second scherzo is also connected by motivic similarity to the first movement. The finale, "with more than a hint of folk fiddling", grows in intensity by markings from Allegro to "sempre più energico" (always more energetic), described as "fiercely accented music of forceful contrasts but irresistible momentum".

Arrangements The Finnish violinist and composer Pekka Kuusisto has arranged the work for chamber orchestra, which was included in Kuusisto's 2009 Australian tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.Anna King Murdoch, "An aural homecoming", The Age, 14 March 2009, A2, p. 16

Discography The Budapest String Quartet made the world premiere studio recording of the String Quartet in D minor on 8 August 1933, which appeared on Volume 3 of HVM's The Sibelius Society series (DB.2317/23, 1935).

QuartetViolin IViolin IIViolaCelloRuntimeRecording venueLabel1Budapest (1) (1) (1) (1)26:561933Beethovensaal, Warner Classics2Griller36:031950Decca StudiosDecca3Budapest (2) (2) (2) (2)28:221955Coolidge AuditoriumUrania4Smetana29:311956[], HelsinkiIna5Pascal 32:23?First Hand6Borodin??Melodiya7Claremont27:37?Nonesuch8Lansdowne??His Master's Voice9?1970Finnvox StudiosHis Master's Voice1031:041974Vik CastleBIS11Copenhagen32:28?Turnabout12Fitzwilliam32:571978Snape Maltings Concert HallDecca13Sibelius Academy28:141980Sibelius Academy Concert HallFinlandia14Guarneri28:471989[], New YorkPhilips15Gabrieli34:131989Snape Maltings Concert HallChandos1630:101989Studio 2, Swedish Radio17Sophisticated Ladies29:411989BIS18Juilliard30:451990Coolidge AuditoriumSony Classical19Jean Sibelius30:111991Ondine20Wilanow1991Studio 2, Polish RadioAccord21New Helsinki33:221997, TurkuFinlandia22Melos30:381998Harmonia Mundi23Beau??Arktos Recordings24Utrecht29:282001[], RenswoudeCobra25Oslo32:252002cpo26 29:482004BIS27Emerson27:562004American Academy of Arts and LettersDeutsche Grammophon28Daedalus28:56?Bridge29Coull31:492008St Paul's Church, BirminghamSOMM30Henschel 30:512008August Everding Hall, GrünwaldNeos31Kocian29:262009Domovina Studio, PraguePraga Digitals32Tetzlaff29:552009Avi-Music33Vertavo30:52201034Dante 31:012010Potton Hall, SuffolkHyperion35Kamus30:072014Schauman Hall, Pietersaari36Skyros32:142014Engel Hall, Union Adventist UniversityNavona3728:372015Bryn ChurchBIS38Flinders29:392015Wyselaskie Auditorium, ParkvilleABC Classics39Ehnes31:382015Potton Hall, SuffolkOnyx Classics40Leipzig31:212016Marienmünster AbbeyMDG41Aizuri29:392022Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen CollegeAzica

Literature Beat Föllmi (ed.): Das Streichquartett in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts (German), Verlag Hans Schneider, Tutzing 2004 Tomi Mäkelä: Jean Sibelius und seine Zeit (German), Laaber-Verlag, Regensburg 2013 Ulrich Wilker: "Ein fernes Murmeln aus einer fernen Welt". Zu Jean Sibelius’ Streichquartett "Voces intimae" d-Moll op. 56 (German), in: Stefan Börnchen/Claudia Liebrand (eds.): Lauschen und Überhören. Literarische und mediale Aspekte auditiver Offenheit, Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Paderborn 2020, p .193–211

Notes

References

External links

Jean Sibelius / String Quartet in D minor ("Voces Intimae"), Op. 56 AllMusic Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) / String Quartet in d minor, Op. 56, Voces intimae (Intimate Voices) earsense.org