Name: Galop by Elizabeth Skola Davis
Duration: 3 min 25 s
Description: The galoppade, a forerunner of the polka, was first introduced to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry in the late 1820s. This lively two-step was a popular final dance of the evening, so I thought it fitting to be what will be the final movement of a string quartet. Its driving rhythm continually forges ahead like a thoroughbred toward the finish line.

Responsory for the first Nocturn at Matins on Christmas Eve, found in a manuscript from the Abbaye de Fleury, dated c. 1170. Sheet music can be found at http://oestrem.com/thingstwice/2013/12/reno-erat-rudolphus/ 

The full text reads:

Reno erat Rudolphus
Nasum rubrum habebat; 
Si quando hunc videbas, 
Hunc candere tu dicas. 

Omnes tarandri alii 
Semper hunc deridebant; 
Cum misero Rudolpho 
In ludis non ludebant. 

V. Sanctus Nicholas dixit
Nocte nebulae, 
“Rudolphe, naso claro 
Nonne carum tu duces?” 

Tum renores clamabant, 
“Rudolphe, delectus es? 
Cum naso rubro claro 
Historia descendes!” 

Alleluia.

Reno erat Rudolphus

J.S. Bach - Suite For Solo Cello No. 1 In G Major - Prelude

The galoppade, a forerunner of the polka, was first introduced to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry in the late 1820s. This lively two-step was a popular final dance of the evening, so I thought it fitting to be what will be the final movement of a string quartet. Its driving rhythm continually forges ahead like a thoroughbred toward the finish line.

Unknown Album

Galop

Just uncovered! A Juilliard undergraduate recording that is very much worth a listen. Enjoy. More information on the recording and current work of musicians available upon request.

Galop

Elizabeth Skola Davis

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