Bridging the Chasm 1
Signum Quartet have a strong connection through violist Xandi van Dijk with the classical contemporary scene in South Africa. This year marks thirty years since the fall of apartheid in South Africa. The Signum Quartet are celebrating this by inviting some of South Africa‘s most original and powerful voices to reflect on their own experiences and journeys since 1994, weaving a rich
musical tapestry as diverse as the country itself.
The time for the healing of the wounds has come.
The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come.
The time to build is upon us.
Nelson Mandela, Presidential inauguration, 10 May 1994
To frame these commissions, the quartet has chosen works symbolising hope and transformation such as the first violin’s unforgettable spiral of birdsong in Haydn’s
Lark Quartet. Neo Muyanga is an African composer based in Capetown. Holmboe’s
Quartetto Sereno is his last work, composed when he was 87, a short and moving work giving a taste for more. Schumann’s Third Quartet is a work of mesmerising beauty with unearthly melodies that take your breath away, hidden in the opening Allegro is a tune to die for.
