(visit http://www.carlschimmel.com to purchase score and parts)
This is the 4th movement of my String Quartet #1, but can function as a stand-alone piece.
Le Cirque, a painting by George Seurat, depicts a scene from a circus. Seurat was influenced by the teachings of Charles Henry, a professed scientist of aesthetics who advocated the use of certain angle sizes to achieve heightened aesthetic value in art. Henry also had certain ideas about the meanings of colors and line direction. Seurat used these angle sizes, as well as “rising” lines and the Golden Section (a mathematical proportion which was perceived by the Greeks to be aesthetically pleasing) in this painting. The movement employs rising lines and a chord derived from Henry’s numeric teachings. In addition, the tonal centers move around the “circle of fifths,” and the work is structured around the Golden Section. Although formulaic methods were applied in writing the work, Le Cirque is strongly rooted in tonality.
