String Quartet No. 2 in Bb Minor, Op. 6 No. 1 "Revelation"

Find the score on Musescore.com: https://musescore.com/user/20322761/s...

Performed by Musescore Audio--Muse Sounds. (Sorry I don't have... the musician friends who care enough to play a piece this long and difficult by an unknown composer.)

Inspired by my own self-discovery and journey to happiness.

The first movement of this quartet begins with a heartbreaking melody in the cello. Structured in a very loose sonata form, it contains several melodies which borrow inspiration from Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor. The build up in the development section borrows from the heavy dynamic contrasts in Barber's Adagio for Strings, creating a dramatic and gut-wrenching movement.

Continuing from the gloomy mood of the first movement, the second movement is a strange minuet. The melody borrows inspiration from Shostakovich's waltz in B Minor; however, it quickly casts aside this gloominess in the Trio for a gentle and lilting break before the gloominess returns once again, more aggressive this time.

Finally, the final movement ties the whole piece together. A long and complex fugal theme begins the quartet and contrasting contrapuntal lines and dissonances propel the slow and relenting piece forward. The movement takes some inspiration in tone and build from Beethoven's late string quartets, although they are otherwise not much alike.

The finale of the piece is a slow modulation into a beautiful lush D Half-Sharp Major, where the mood finally brightens for good and the piece comes to an exciting and elegant finish.

I began this piece, in fact, before I had finished my symphony in A Minor, in October 2022. That month was, in retrospect, probably the darkest month of my life. Without going into any detail, I felt as though I had lost everything I had to live for.

I continued work on this piece here and there over the next year, as I slowly found my reason to live again, and realized that I had never lost it in the first place. Although I still struggled with my mental health over the course of the next year, I found myself finding hope in the darkness until finally, one year later, in September 2023, my struggles vanished. I knew who I was, who I wanted to be, and why I had struggled for so long.

I finally finished the third movement of this piece in January of this year, 2024. I was perfectly at peace with myself, for the first time in my entire life.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy.