Brother Tree Sound
We only play music we love
Some of the pieces we play lay the great foundations of the quartet repertoire and some have been forgotten or lost somewhere along the way. Some are brand new and some have travelled along the paths of time.
Our challenge is to find how each piece of music is relevant to us, to our audiences and also to the music we programme alongside
Below are some of the programmes we have been playing recently.
Curating programmes to shape experiences
Chiaroscuro
Quintet in G minor - Mozart
Quintet in G major - Brahms
The stark contrasts between Light and Dark in this programme provide a beautifully balanced shorter concert.
We start this shorter programme with Mozart's deeply moving quintet in G minor which shows his darker side, contrasting with his inextinguishable energy for life.
In the second half we play the radiant, soaring and athletic Brahms quintet in G major opening with the triumphant cello solo and ending with an inexhaustible Hungarian Dance in the last movement.
This concert is for string quartet and viola. and is one hour in length.
Paris, Les Six in Monmatre. Jazz and Ravel
Tailleferre- string quartet no 1
Ravel- string quartet
Louis Durey - string quartet no 1
Milhaud - string quartet no 4
Our album 'Quartets Through a Time of Change' programme.The inter-war period in Europe was one of fresh approaches and experimental thinking in the arts. Les Six met, revelled and exchanged their ideas with artists, writers poets and musicians such as Satie and Cocteau in Monmatre, Paris. We have included Ravels only string quartet with its jazzy influences in this programme which we also hear in his pupil Germain Tailleferre's quartet. Tailleferre was the only woman in Les Six.
A much neglected quartet by Les Six member Louise Durey who ws greatly influenced after hearing Debussy's string quartet provides something new for our audiences.
Folksongs - Myths and Legends
Gustav Holst -British Folksongs for string quartet
Imogen Holst Phantasy Quartet
Folksongs of England, Ireland and Wales from our album 'Maid on the Shore'
Smetana - string quartet no 1
For this programme we have chosen music that draws its influence from the wealth of folk music around the world. In 1903 Vaughn Williams collected his first folk song 'Bushes and Briars' in Essex.It was sung to him by a local tradesperson. RVW went on to collect over 800 songs.
We have arranged this folksong for string quartet as well as many others, delving into history and heritage exploring stories of love trysts, mythical creatures, legends of old, sailors and mermaids. We have paired our folksong arrangements with Gustav Holst's own arrangement of British Folksongs as well as a stunning pastoral quartet in one movement by Imogen Holst finishing the programme with Smetana's wonderful quartet which draws from his rich and colourful folk heritage.
Spirit of Eternal Sunshine
Haydn - 'The Lark'
Mendelssohn - Quartet in A Minor opus 13
Dvorak - 'American'
This traditional programme takes the audience on a wonderfully uplifting musical journey with music from three composers that wrote for the string quartet in a way that showcases the groups sonority and huge range of expressive capability.
Starting with Haydn's 'Lark which is such a perfectly balanced work from the father of the string quartet, we then move on to Fanny Hensel Mendelssohn's sumptuously romantic string quartet in E flat major finishing with the ever cheerful and completely unforgettable 'American quartet .
The Fens - for string quartet and horn
Beethoven 'Serioso' opus 95
The Fens - Peter Fribbins
Charles Villers Stanford -Fantasy in A minor quintet
Mendelssohn - opus 13 in A minor
This programme centres around a new work written for string quartet and horn by Peter Fribbins.
We commissioned "The Fens' last year and premiered it in June 2024 at Fenlania Festival with horn player Ben Goldscheider.
This programme will include Beethoven's compact and extraordinary opus 95 "Serioso', followed by Mendelssohn's quartet opus 13 no 2 in A minor.
Glazunov's lyrical and seldom heard Idyll and Serenade for string quartet and horn is a perfect way to finish this programme.
Sunrise - Sunset
Haydn - 'Sunrise'
Florence Price -a selection from 'Folksongs'
Mendelssohn - Quartet no 6 in F minor
Haydn's magical 'Sunrise' quartet from opus 76 is one of his most loved and named after the lyrical ascending passage which opens this beautiful work.
Florence Price wrote her folksongs in 1951, although the manuscripts were left untouched in a attic until 2009 so metaphorically this music is once again given a chance to shine.
Mendelssohn wrote his last quartet after unexpectedly loosing his beloved sister Fanny Mendelssohn. This quartet was finished months before he himself died and marks the sunset of Mendelssohn's short yet full life.