In its original form, this piece is performed in between Molto Allegro a Appassionato movement and a brief, sometimes-omitted Molto Allegro finale as part of the composer's first string quartet.
In its original form, this piece is performed in between Molto Allegro a Appassionato movement and a brief, sometimes-omitted Molto Allegro finale as part of the composer's first string quartet. Two years later it was rescored it for a large ensemble as a stand-alone piece, but retained its emphasis on the viola part. The composer was inspired by reading a passage from Vergil's Georgics describing how a stream grows into a river, which mirrors the gradual buildup of the dirge-like theme into a powerful, quasi-Romantic climax. FTP, name this slow 1938 piece sometimes arranged for chorus as the Agnus Dei, the most popular composition of Samuel Barber.
In its original form, this piece is performed in between Molto Allegro a Appassionato movement and a brief, sometimes-omitted Molto Allegro finale as part of the composer's first string quartet.
{Adagio} for Strings