String Quartet No. 1 (Hill)


String Quartet No. 1 in B-flat major "Maori Quartet", Stiles 1.2.3.3 SQ1 is the first of Alfred Hill's seventeen string quartets. Its composition began before 1892, it was completed after 1896 and premiered only on 18 May 1911 in Sydney.
The first two quartets were published together by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1913. Each of them used to be referred as Maori, a feature that can lead to confusions. Today the first one is called Maori, while for the second another subtitle is retained. Its approximate duration is 22 minutes.

History

Hill began composing this quartet while he was studying in Leipzig Conservatory, but the two middle movements were later substituted with new music incorporating Māori ideas. The second theme of the Finale is actually the same Māori tune that was used as a principal theme in Hill's 1896 cantata Hinemoa. The 1896 as terminus post quem for this quartet is also based on the composition of Hinemoa: it was by its success that Hill became fond of incorporating Māori tunes into his music.
Even in its final form this quartet remains clearly European in style. The original Scherzo was used by Hill in his First Symphony and in the Fourth Quartet.

Structure

The Quartet is in four movements:
The first movement is a sonata form. Its first subject consists of two parts: a slow and a fast, both played twice. They reappear in the development section and in the reprise. The second theme is in F major. At the end of the movement it is repeated in B-flat major. Both the exposition and the reprise close with a new statement of the initial slow theme.
The Waiata is a scherzo with a trio. Both themes are Māori: a barbaric Haka Dance and a graceful Poi Dance. The main section is in F major, while the trio is in D major.
The Tangi is also based on a Māori. It is a sorrowful melody in G minor with a contrasting middle section in fast tempo. This movement ends with a brief coda.
Just like the opening movement, the Finale is laid out in a sonata form with a second subject first stated in F major. It is the longest movement of the quartet and its coda provides a splendid conclusion for the whole piece.

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