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Andrew Norman

An Index of Peculiar Strokes

for string quartet

(2011)

Duration	12'
Movements	I. Rebound II. Skim III. Skip IV. Up V. Scrape VI. Down VII. Stammer VIII. Spread IX. Release
Commission	Commissioned by the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts for the Jasper Quartet and by the Bennington Chamber Music Conference and Composers’ Forum of the East
Premiere	August 4, 2011; Katonah, New York, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts; Jasper String Quartet
Publisher	Schott Music

Media

Program Note

Writing a string quartet is a daunting task. The history of this ensemble is long and rich, its repertoire vast and densely packed with major statements by major composers. To write a quartet is to willingly put oneself in the ring with the big boys, and thus I have avoided it for as long as possible. But the opportunity to write for the Jasper Quartet was too good to pass up, and I figured it was about time I gave the medium a try.

And what I tried to do was to write the most "un-quartety" quartet I could imagine. Where so many quartets think big, with sprawling, formally complex movements and large-scale rhetorical arcs, mine aims small, with seven bite-size morsels of the blink-and-you-miss-them variety. So many composers, from Haydn and Mozart forward, conceive of the medium as four equal voices asserting their independence through witty and learned dialogue; I tried to erase the individuality of the voices as much as I could, creating a "meta-instrument" out of the four musicians that thinks and plays as one. And while so many quartets foreground the lyrical, linear, singing qualities of string instruments, I focused on their percussive possibilities.

I am an amateur violist, and while I'm not very good at making beautiful sounds on my instrument, I do love exploring wacky ways that the bow can make contact with the strings. For me there is something magical about the wide range of sonic possibilities available through the manipulation of the smallest physical variables--the balance of weight in the fingers of the right hand, the placement of the bow a fraction of an inch closer or farther from the bridge. Each of these small changes opens up a whole world of unique sounds, and each of the movements of this piece explores one of those worlds using a different, slightly peculiar, off-the-beaten-path bow stroke.

- Andrew Norman

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Types of Products

Full Score/Performance Score (price reflects 4 copies) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (2 required for performance) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (includes 3 copies) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (includes 3 copies) (Print)

Choral Booklet (Digital)

Choral Booklet (Print)

Full Score in 3 volumes (Print)

Anthology edition (Print)

Choral Score (includes 4 copies) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (4 required for performance) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (4 required for performance) (Digital)

solo part and piano reduction (Digital)

solo part and piano reduction (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (6 scores required for performance) (Digital)

Performance Score (includes 4 scores) (Print)

Choral Scores (Digital - Bulk Purchase for Performance) (Digital)
This price covers the minimum cost of digital copies for performance.

Choral Score Set (Digital)

Choral Score Set (16 copies) (Digital)

Choral Score Set (License for 16 copies) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (5 scores required for performance) (Digital)
Pricing reflects cost of 5 digital scores.

Full Score/Performance Score (8 scores required for performance) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (5 copies required for performance) (Print)

Vocal Score - single copy (Digital)

Vocal Score - license for single copy (Digital)

Vocal Score Set - 16 copies (Digital)

Vocal Score Set - License for 16 copies (Digital)

Vocal Score Set - 16 copies (Print)

Score (Digital)

Score (Print)

Volume 1 (Print)

Volume 2 (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (price reflects 5 copies) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (6 scores needed for performance) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (price reflects 6 copies) (Digital)

Full score and Solo Part (Digital)

Full Score/Violin Part (Digital)

Full Score/Violin Part (Print)

Conductor Score (Print)

Score and part (Print)

Score and part (Digital)

Choral Score Set - 16 copies (Print)
Includes 8 copies of the soprano/alto part and 8 copies of the tenor/bass part.

Piano Reduction and solo parts (Digital)

Chamber Ensemble Score (Print)

Choral Score Set - 20 copies (Print)

Full Score (4 needed for performance) (Print)

Parts (Mov. 11 only) (Print)

Full Score (3 scores needed for performance) (Print)

Full Score (3 scores needed for performance) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (2 required for performance) (Digital)

Piano reduction and solo part (Print)

Study Score in Two Volumes (Print)

Video and instructions (Digital)

Piano/Vocal Score (Digital)

Piano/Vocal Score (Print)

Choral Score Set (40 copies) (Print)

Score and Parts (Digital)
Score and part PDF files are delivered via email upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase.

Full Score (Digital)
A PDF file of the full score is delivered via email upon receipt.

Soprano/Alto Part (Print)

Choral Score Set (License for 50 copies) (Digital)

Full Score (Print)
A print edition of the score ships to the customer's address upon receipt.

Tenor/Bass Part (Print)

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A PDF file of the part(s) is delivered via email upon receipt.

Parts (Print)
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Solo Instrument Score (Digital)
A score PDF file is delivered via email upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. An email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer's email address.

Full Score/Performance Score (Digital)
The full score serves as a performance score for all players. A score PDF file is delivered via email upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. An email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer's email address.

Score and Parts (Print)
A print edition of the score and part(s) ship to the customer's address upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. The email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer.

Solo Instrument Score (Print)
A print edition of the score is shipped to the customer's address upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. An email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer's email address.

Full Score/Performance Score (Print)
The full score serves as a performance score for all players. Print edition(s) of the full score/performance score are shipped to the customer's address upon receipt. Multiple copies are included if the work has more than one player. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase.

Choral Score (Digital)
A PDF file of the choral score is delivered via email upon receipt. The set is priced to allow multiple copies of the PDF to be printed for performance by the purchasing organization only.

Study Score (print) (Digital)

Study Score (print) (Print)

Choral Score Set- 8 copies (Print)
Minimum order quantity is 8 copies. Single copies are not available.

SATB choral score (Print)

Vocal Score (Digital)

Vocal Score (Print)

Choral Score (Print)

Full Score and Solo Part (Print)
A print edition of the score and solo part ships to the customer's address upon receipt.