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Three English Quadrilles for Octet, Op. 49
No. 1 in A Major
No. 2 in D Major
No. 3 in G Major
These quadrilles were composed between November 2025 and the middle of January 2026, using tunes frommy old popular song sketch books. It seemed a good way to make use of this material and preserve it in some form. The instrumentation is the same as that of Schubert’s celebrated Octet, D. 803 (clarinet, bassoon, horn, 2 violins, viola, cello, and double bass).
The quadrille is a structure that laps up short song melodies, although work is needed to ensure that flow is maintained in this format. Tempos are generally on the fast side, so that also requires rhythmic revisions at times. I have always been fond of irregular phrase lengths, but these need to be revised to fit the regular dance patterns of the quadrilles, which relies on 8-bar themes. An English quadrille contains five dances (the Viennese quadrille has six). The upper-case letters refer to the order of the eight-bar themes that constitute the melody of each dance.
1. Pantalon 2/4 or 6/8 (ABACA)
2. Été 2/4 (ABBA)
3. Poule 6/8 (two-bar introduction, then ABACABA)
4. Pastourelle 2/4 (ABCBA)
5. Finale 2/4 (two-bar introduction, then AABBAA)
Details
Todmorden
United Kingdom