The composer’s second quartet was commissioned by Radio-Canada to celebrate the centenary of the Canadian Confederation. Dedicated to Nadia Boulanger on her 80th birthday, this work was premiered by the Orford Quartet on June 24, 1970.
Contrary to what one might expect in a work for small ensemble, the accent in this work is more on harmonic than on contrapuntal writing. It is much more chromatic than the first quartet; it seems to stand midway between the composer’s search for 12-tone harmonies, and the characteristic use of extended techniques in some of his later works. In the slow movements, several vigorous passages give way to more lyrical, intimate, and meditative episodes. The fast movements are reminiscent of the layered writing of Stravinsky, with melodies stacked on top of brief repeating (ostinato) rhythmic motifs.
Paul Bazin
Translated by Sean McCutcheon
Access to score:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/quatuor-a-cordes-no-2-sheet-music/21850688