BALADA for string quartet

BALADA for string quartet

Score & parts

Ciprian Porumbescu/arr. Lucian Moraru

SON ART

www.sonartedition.com

by Susan Pierotti

Porumbescu lived for only 29 years yet his Balada, written in 1880, is a Romanian favourite, evident from the numerous arrangements found on YouTube. Originally scored for violin and orchestra, Moraru’s clear and beautifully printed arrangement for string quartet delivers almost equally balanced parts between the two violins, the second violin part dominating in the beginning for some time. The cello solo and first violin share the melody in the final iteration of the tune. Oddly, as the arranger is a violist, the viola merely accompanies throughout. The heartfelt melody is interrupted by some semiquaver passage work that hints at happier times but deep tragedy returns, to fade out wistfully at the end. Porumbescu was born in the Ukraine and died as a result of standing up for Romania’s independence, which makes this piece all the more topically poignant.

Stringendo (Australian Strings Association’s magazine) - October, 2022