Avalon String Quartet - Illuminations (2016)

The Avalon String Quartet “a remarkably fine ensemble” (The Strad), makes its Cedille Records debut with an irresistible program of captivating works by Claude Debussy, Benjamin Britten, Osvaldo Golijov, and rising American composer Stacy Garrop.

The ensemble presents the world-premiere recording of Garrop’s String Quartet No. 4, “Illuminations,” a tantalizing, Pictures at an Exhibition style tour of spectacular illustrations from an ornate medieval manuscript. Debussy’s lush, exotic String Quartet in G minor unfolds through iridescent quasi- orchestral textures. Golijov’s lyrical, deeply moving Tenebrae (Latin for “shadows”) pays tender tribute to the earth, depicted in its remote celestial beauty, haunted by undertones of human discord. Britten’s youthful, energetic Three Divertimenti and Alla Marcia are alluring studies in inventiveness and perpetual motion.