Illuminations Avalon String Quartet

• Claude Debussy (1862-1918):
• 1 I. Anime et tres decide 06:26
• 2 II. Assez vif et bien rythme 03:46
• 3 III. Andantino doucement expressif 07:34
• 4 IV. Tres modere 07:17
• Benjamin Britten (1913-1976):
• 5 No. 1. March: Allegro maestoso 03:40
• 6 No. 2. Waltz: Allegretto 03:04
• 7 No. 3. Burlesque: Presto 03:27
• 8 Alla marcia 03:19
• Stacy Garrop:
• 9 I. The Book of Hours is opened 01:40
• 10 II. Catherine of Cleves prays to the Virgin and Child 03:45
• 11 III. Singing Angels 01:24
• 12 IV. Interlude: Book of Hours 00:39
• 13 V. Christ carrying the Cross 02:52
• 14 VI. Interlude: Book of Hours 00:42
• 15 VII. Mouth of Hell 03:05
• 16 VIII. Trinity Enthroned 03:19
• 17 IX. The Book of Hours is closed 01:59
• Osvaldo Golijov (1960 -)
• 18 Tenebrae (version for string quartet) 12:42
• Total Runtime 01:10:40

Info for Illuminations

The Avalon String Quartet, “a remarkably fine ensemble” (The Strad), makes its Cedille Records debut with an irresistible and richly varied program of captivating works by Claude Debussy, Benjamin Britten, Osvaldo Golijov, and rising American composer Stacy Garrop.

The ensemble presents the world-premiere recording of Garrop’s String Quartet No. 4, Illuminations, a tantalizing, Pictures at an Exhibition-style tour of spectacular illustrations from an ornate medieval manuscript. Garrop’s music has been performed by superstar choir Chanticleer; the Detroit Symphony, Grant Park, and Minnesota Orchestras; and the Biava Quartet, Lincoln Trio, and International Contemporary Ensemble, among other notable groups. Debussy’s lush, exotic String Quartet in G minor unfolds through iridescent quasi-orchestral textures. Golijov’s lyrical, deeply moving Tenebrae (Latin for “shadows”), written for the Kronos Quartet, pays tender tribute to the earth, depicted in its remote celestial beauty, haunted by undertones of human discord. Britten’s youthful, energetic Three Divertimenti and Alla Marcia are alluring, rarely recorded studies in inventiveness and perpetual motion.

The Avalon is quartet-in-residence at the Northern Illinois University School of Music, a position formerly held by the distinguished Vermeer Quartet. The Chicago Tribune calls the Avalon “an ensemble that invites you — ears, mind, and spirit — into its music.” The award-winning quartet captured top prize at the ARD Competition in Munich (2000) as well as first prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York (1999).

Avalon String Quartet:
Blaise Magniere, violin
Marie Wang, violin
Anthony Devroye, viola
Cheng-Hou Lee, cello

Avalon String Quartet
Described by the Chicago Tribune as an ensemble that invites you ears, mind, and spirit into its music, the Avalon String Quartet has established itself as one of the country's leading chamber music ensembles.

The Avalon has performed in major venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd St Y, Merkin Hall, and Bargemusic in New York; the Library of Congress and National Gallery of Art in Washington DC; Wigmore Hall in London; and Herculessaal in Munich. Other performances include appearances at the Bath International Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Caramoor, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, NPR's St. Paul Sunday, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Dame Myra Hess Concerts, Los Angeles Music Guild, and the Ravinia Festival. The quartet performs an annual concert series in historic Fullerton Hall at the Art Institute of Chicago, where it has presented the complete quartet cycles of Beethoven, Bartok, and Brahms in recent seasons.

The Avalon is quartet-in-residence at the Northern Illinois University School of Music, a position formerly held by the Vermeer Quartet. Additional teaching activities have included the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Institute, Interlochen Advanced Quartet Program, Madeline Island Music Camp, and the Britten-Pears School in England, as well as masterclasses at universities and conservatories throughout the United States. Additionally, they have given numerous performances and presentations to young audiences in under-resourced schools and communities.

In summer 2015, the quartet will be releasing Illuminations, it's first recording for Cedille Records. This follows a critically acclaimed CD of contemporary American works on the Albany label in 2010. The Avalon String Quartet's debut CD, Dawn to Dusk, featuring quartets by Ravel and Janacek, was honored with the 2002 Chamber Music America/WQXR Record Award for best chamber music recording.

The quartet's live performances and conversations are frequently featured on Chicago fine arts radio station WFMT. They have also been heard on New York's WQXR and WNYC, National Public Radio's Performance Today, Canada's CBC, Australia's ABC, the ARD of Germany, and France Musique.

The Avalon captured the top prize at the ARD Competition in Munich (2000) and First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York (1999). In its early years, the ensemble trained intensively with the Juilliard Quartet at The Juilliard School, the Emerson Quartet at the Hartt School of Music, and the Vermeer Quartet at Northern Illinois University.

This album contains no booklet.