The Recital Junior String Ensembles Series series
Recital Music publish a wealth of music for the junior string orchestra ensemble, in a range of popular styles and idioms. Our aim is to create a new and exciting selection of music for every level of string player, from beginner to professional, and to offer music which has great player and audience appeal.
Aimed at the intermediate string orchestra, A Piece of String is a lively extended one-movement work in three distinct sections. The music is tonal and tuneful, rhythmic and approachable, and offers something of interest for each instrument. It is player and audience friendly and was composed in the early 1990s and revised in 2003. There are some divisi in the viola part, an effective violin solo, and accessible musical and technical challenges to maintain the interest. Hugh Bushell composed a number of educational works and this has been successful in performance. The edition includes a score and parts (4.4.3.3.2).
"If you have a student group with a strong viola section and a confident violin soloist, then A Piece of String may very well suit you! It features an important divisi viola part throughout as well as a 12-bar violin solo in the middle section. This piece was originally written for the Taunton Sinfonietta, and English group that promotes workshops and string days as well as its own professional concerts.
The piece starts 'at walking pace' in simple duple time in G major. There is a complete change of character in the middle section with a tonal shift to A minor as well as a change in time to compound duple. The beautiful violin solo leads back to the opening theme. With a performance timing of approximately 6 minutes and some shifting required in the first violin and cello parts, I would recommend this piece for middle and high school string orchestras. It would make a great eisteddford or 'stand-alone' performance piece." [STRINGENDO - Australian String Teachers Association]
"A Piece of String by Hugh Bushell (1939-2003) presses all the right buttons and is simply marvellous. Written in the 1990s for the Taunton Sinfonietta, subsequently performed by musicians from a local sixth-form college and later by the youngsters of the National Children's Orchestra, it is a shortish piece in ternary form for String Orchestra. The violas play divisi quite a lot of the time (I believe that there were 20 of them in the first performance) and I read that the short violin solo was originally performed by a ten-year-old.
What I love about this piece is the magpie-like thieving from Clair de Lune and Golliwog's Cakewalk all dressed up 'a la Eric Coates' in textures that Dag Wiren would have been proud of. An outer 2/4 section contrasts with a central 6/8 section featuring a charming melody for cello and double bass. Every instrumental part has at least one special moment and everyone will enjoy the pizzicato reprise..." [Music Teacher]
