String Quartet No. 2 by Felix Jarrar (2018) by Felix Jarrar

String Quartet No. 2 by Felix Jarrar (2018)

I. Scherzo (0:00)
II. Reverie (4:14)

World premiere performance

Performed by the Revelation Ensemble

Recorded live at Saints Constantine and Helen's Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY on November 2nd, 2018 during the Downtown Brooklyn Chamber Music Festival

Performers:
Amos Lee, Violin I
Chloe Kim, Violin II
Andy Yoon, Viola
Amanda Laborete, Cello

Program notes:
My String Quartet no. 2 is the largest multi-movement and purely instrumental work I have written in the past three years. The work is constructed into two contrasting movements. The opening movement, a scherzo, is a piece with an unrelenting forward drive. The motives and textures are sardonic, rhythmically lively, and have a biting sense of humor. The movement concludes with a coda in which the music increases grows faster and wilder as it reaches the Prestissimo conclusion. The second movement, entitled Reverie, is a slow, lyrical piece which is more introverted in character than the Scherzo. The work concludes in a serene, ethereal mood that is at the complete opposite end of the emotional spectrum from the jaunty opening.