The Twentieth is my lost quartet.  At the time of writing (27/9/2020), I am reasonably confident that the autographs of Nos. 3, 5, 13, 14 and 19, and the surviving first violin part of No. 1, will at some point turn up in the ongoing clear-out of a staggeringly chaotic loft; and, even if they fail to do so, every one of them could be re-created with a fair degree of fidelity (although No. 13 might take a bit of recomposing).

String Quartet No. 20, however, was composed in a single day, on June 26th 1992, partly to celebrate my 10,000th day (the more fortunate 29th Quartet was in similar fashion the product of my 20,000th) and partly to discover whether such a thing could be done.  Sadly, such rapid gestation leaves very little imprint upon the memory.  I recall the key sequence of the movements (Bb, D, G minor and Bb); the fact that the work began rather unusually with a minuet (a scheme motivated, again, by curiosity); that the slow movement was a set of variations on Happy Birthday To You, the last appearance of which mutated into an extensive quote from Haydn's 88th Symphony; the first four bars of the scherzo; and an eight-bar passage in the finale (3:05-3:12) which I had sketched some three years earlier and which I had been waiting to use.  And that is all that is left of the Twentieth Quartet. 

The autograph short score was one of several works which I left for safekeeping with my parents-in-law before our FCO posting to Malawi in 2001.  It was written on a somewhat outsized sheaf of manuscript paper which would not fit snugly alongside its fellow quartets in the bedside chest of drawers, and so was accommodated instead in a rather chaotic wardrobe.  It was still there in January 2002, which was the last time I ever saw it.  When I made my last visit to the house in August 2004, following the break-up of my marriage, I recovered my other quartets from the drawers; but I was reluctant in the circumstances to make too indelicate an excavation of the wardrobe, and I left it for another time.  Since then my ex-wife, who has always been scrupulously conscientious in the return of property, has made two searches for the piece, but without luck; and, since May 2018, I have reluctantly recognised its probable consignment to oblivion.

In anticipation of such a consignment, I began in April that year an extensive re-composition of the remembered plan.  I started with the slow movement, whose main theme made it by default the most memorable and extensive of the fragments.  The project progressed slowly, and the new quartet was completed on September 26th 2020.  On the whole, I think that it has benefitted from both the work-over and the leisure.  I am pleased with the more sophisticated opening minuet (again, based somewhat loosely on Happy Birthday) and its dark Bb minor Alternativo, and with the scherzo and its two trios; neither movement would have lent itself very readily to the original pace of composition.  And I thoroughly enjoyed composing the finale, and I think it shows.

Should my missing quartet ever by some miracle turn up after all, the current work will be re-designated Number Thirty, and any subsequent quartet composed in the meanwhile will be bumped along one place accordingly.

As far as I can recall, the original quartet rather unusually bore no dedication.  The new version is dedicated to my University friend and fellow-composer Rupert Feld.

String Quartet No. 20, in B flat major (1992, lost; re-composed 2020)

5'' Run - Off

A M Bell - String Quartet No 20 (I - Menuetto: Andante con Brio)

A.M.Bell - String Quartet No. 20 (II - Adagio Molto)

A.M.Bell - String Quartet No. 20 (III - Scherzo: Vivace ma non troppo e leggiero)

A.M.Bell - String Quartet No. 20 (IV - Finale: Presto Gioioso)

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).

String Quartet No. 20, in B flat major (1992, lost; re-composed 2020)

Michael Bell