Doug Opel
[Composer]

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Rite of an Appalachian Bolero in Blue...from Mars

for string quartet

Written: 2012
Duration: 7:30
Instrumentation: string quartet

Program Notes

I started this string quartet by playing around with a riff from an industrial metal band I favored years ago. As my idea took shape, I also found myself feeling the spirit of many ostinato-driven classics: in particular Ravel’s Bolero, Mars from Holst’s The Planets, and Dances of the Young Girls from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. And for some twisted reason, this seemed to work quite well simultaneously as backdrop and counterpart to a collection of jazz licks, bluegrass fiddle and gospel music-inspired melodic lines.

Rite of an Appalachian Bolero in Blue....from Mars was premiered by PUBLIQuartet for Vision of Sound: A Concert of Live Music and Dance, presented by Composer’s Voice Concert series August 6th, 2012.