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- String Quartet No. 1 "Already it is Dusk" Op. 62, is a composition for string quartet by Henryk Górecki. Written in 1988 after a long period of focus on vocal music, it was first performed by the Kronos Quartet on 21 January 1989 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. All three of Górecki's string quartets were written for the Kronos Quartet. It is published by Boosey & Hawkes and PWM Edition. The piece reflects the composer's interest in early music, deriving both its title and main theme from a motet by 16th-century Polish Renaissance composer and poet, Wacław of Szamotuły, written to the words of Andrzej Trzecieski. Górecki had already quoted this piece in at least two earlier compositions, Chorale in the Form of a Canon (1961), and Old Polish Music, Op. 24 (1967-1969). Already it is dusk, the night is near,let us ask the Lord for His helpto protect us from evil, to guard us from those who use darkness for their wrong-doings. The choice of quotation was partially inspired by Górecki’s dislike of the evenings in a time of political uncertainty in Communist Poland. Furthermore, the central section of the work recalls music which Polish Highlander musicians would play until the late night. In typical Góreckian fashion, the piece is loaded with symbolism. This is not the first string quartet to make references to this musical tradition, having been done before most notably by Karol Szymanowski and Stanisław Moniuszko. Górecki even remarked once: ”Where Szymanowski went, I went too.” The quartet is cast in one movement and lasts around 15 minutes. The Boosey & Hawkes edition includes the lyrics to the original motet and a notation of the tenor line, which appears in the work. (en)
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