The rising arpeggio that opens my Thirty-Second Quartet had come about somewhat by accident, the theme being derived from the melody of the minuet, which was itself a transcription of a much earlier stand-alone minuet for three double basses. When, at the beginning of September 1993, I embarked upon a more-or-less new quartet (schemes and sketches for the inner movements had an earlier origin, but without any very specific plan), I set myself to discover where a similar device might take me in the key of B minor. (About a fortnight later I found myself doing the same with F major, the ultimate result of which was the Quartet No. 31).

I began sketching it on the first of the month, and got down to serious business three days later upon hearing a BBC radio tribute to the seventy-year-old Donald Swann (who I was very sorry to learn in the course of the programme was seriously ill). My plan was that Mr Swann should have a gift of the B minor quartet (I wondered very briefly, upon the conception of the F major, whether he should have that one instead, but decided to stick with the plan). I worked on my new quartet over the following six months, most intensively in January and February, after which it dried up along with all my other musical projects when I became a full-time home-parent.

Besides the consequent shortage of time and energy, there was also in the case of the B minor quartet a certain loss of heart. A week or two ahead of an imminent posting abroad, I realised that I was not going to finish the work the right side of departure, so I took a trip to Battersea (complete with new baby daughter) to seek out Mr Swann at his own home in the hope of showing him the opening movement, which was almost complete. I was met at the door by an anxious but kindly woman (possibly his wife or daughter), who had a brief look herself at the music, and said that she would tell him about it but that he was no longer well enough to receive visitors. He died barely a month later, and for a while I could not have found it in myself to resume work on the quartet had I been at liberty to do so. It was, however, always my intention to return to it at some point, and when my second daughter Maria was born in 1997 I resolved one day to make her a gift of the work.

The first movement was finished in February 1994, and currently stands almost exactly as it was written back then. I had forgotten just how much of the Adagio also existed; when a box full of long-lost scores and sketches turned up in the loft in January 2021, I was gratified to discover that the outline of the movement was very nearly entire. It begins with a rather mysterious violin solo cantilena, the first instance of a technique of which I was to become rather fond (roughly similar examples can be found in the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Ninth quartets). The score travels flatwards through a complete enharmonic cycle, commencing in B major and finishing in C flat.

The scherzo is the oldest part of the work. It began with a figure taken from Haydn's Opus 64 No. 2 quartet and run with in a different direction; an experiment dating from October 1986, extensively developed in my head but never written down. In the final version of the movement, I have reserved the two harmonic surprises (originally in the second half of the main body) for the da capo. The 1994 sketch contains a number of bars in my ex-wife's hand, which she kindly took down for me in dictation while I was busy settling the baby. The trio is mostly new, but the theme dates from 1993-94 and is an audible tribute to the original projected dedicatee. The theme and initial exposition of the sonata-rondo finale originated some time in the late '80s or early '90s, but most of the working out is very recent.  Some of the slightly frantic circumstances of its composition may be found reflected in the development section.

The Thirty-Third Quartet was finished on October 9th 2021, and is dedicated to Maria with all my love.

String Quartet No. 33, in B minor (2021)

A M Bell - String Quartet No 33 (I: Allegro tenebroso)

A.M.Bell - String Quartet No. 33 (II: Molto Adagio)

A.M.Bell - String Quartet No. 33 (III: Scherzo - Allegro agitato; Trio: Meno agitato)

A.M.Bell - String Quartet No. 33 (IV: Allegro precipito)

5'' Run - Off

Born 1965, lifelong lover of music.  Have been picking out little tunes from 5, and attempting seriously to compose since 12.  Generally (although not exclusively) happiest writing in the manner of late-18thC/early 19thC, but very happy to listen to pretty nearly any music.  String quartets a speciality, although not entirely sure why.  No plans to give up the day job (secondary school Support for Learning Assistant) or the weekend job (Choirmaster at St. Magnus's Cathedral, Kirkwall).

A.M.Bell - String Quartet No. 33 (III: Scherzo - Allegro agitato; Trio: Meno agitato)

Michael Bell