Kunst und Natur
March for String Quartet
Johann
Schrammel (1850-1893), along with his brother Josef and Anton Strohmayer,
created an ensemble and a type of music that was every bit as Viennese as
that of the Strauss Family. In 1878, Schrammel, an orchestral violinist, his
brother Josef, a Vienna folk music specialist, and the virtuoso guitarist
Anton Strohmayer formed a trio. In 1884, the clarinetist Georg Dänzer joined
their group and they became known as the Schrammel Quartet. Both brothers
and Strohmayer wrote numerous works--waltzes, marches, polkas and galopps--for
this combination. Their wonderful works, which were based on the folk
melodies of old Vienna, became known as "Schrammelmusik". In the
German-speaking world and throughout much of Europe, their music achieved
the kind of fame which had been accorded the Strauss waltzes. In Vienna,
their music was held in the highest regard by the likes of Brahms and Johann
Strauss, Jr., both of whom could always be found in the audience, along with
many other famous musicians, whenever the Schrammel Quartet gave a public
concert. It is fair to say that Schrammelmusik is even more Viennese than
the music of the Strausses. Schrammel ensembles--i.e., two violins, a
clarinet and the 13 string bass guitar--could regularly be found playing at
Heurigens, the wine bars, found on the outskirts of Vienna, so typical of
that city and no place else. There, the Viennese drank the new wine at long
tables and linked arms singing old Viennese folk melodies to forget the
troubles of their daily lives.
Though nearly all of the Schrammels' compositions were written for two violins, clarinet and bass
guitar, the tremendous popularity of their music quickly led to arrangements for
virtually every kind of small ensemble as well as the piano. Kunst und Natur
(Art & Nature) is
a march which after Wien bleibt Wien (Vienna is always Vienna), was probably the most famous Schrammel
march ever written and one of the 5 or 6 most famous to come out of Vienna.
Our version is for string quartet, a combination in which this music no
doubt was often heard in the cafes of Vienna.
Parts:
$10.95
