Top 100 Composers: Alois Hába
I admit, Hába barely made it to this list. There're several reasons why he did: 1. I'm interested in any composers who used microtonality pre-1940 (& most after then too), 2. Hába's having composed an entire quarter-tone opera on the subject of Suffragettes ("The Mother") was really going that extra mile (& it took me decades to find a recording of it), 3. I'm fortunate to have a score of an early string quartet of his from 1920 (Op. 7) in quarter-tones so it seemed like a good idea to reproduce that here ENLARGED (the copy I have is a study score, I suppose, it's very small & hard to read off of for performing). Furthermore, I added an English translation of Hába's minimal text about his quarter-tone system. The original is in Czech, German, & French. - November 17, 2017 note from tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
"The Mother" (in quarter-tones) (Op. 35) - 1930
"Nonet C.1" (in half-tones) (Op. 40) - 1931 - 9:35
"Smyccovy Kvartet C.11" (String Quartet #11) (in sixth-tones) (Op. 87) - 1959 - 11:44
"Smyccovy Kvartet C.12" (String Quartet #12) (in quarter-tones) (Op. 90) - 1960 - 15:36
"Smyccovy Kvartet C.13" (String Quartet #13) (in half-tones) (Op. 92) - 1961 - 11:58
My English translation of the above follows. Note that you have to consult the above in order to understand what the notation symbols are.
Haba's quarter-tone system explanation:
I worked for years to develop this quarter-tone system. Musical ideas, which could not be expressed until now by the present system of notes, were unceasingly inspired by different attempts with instruments and by composing. The quarter-tone is the result of long and painstaking studies and researches. It wasn't my intention to compromise the current semitone system, but to imbue it with the most subtle differences. I seemed to feel that the quarter-tone system was not a new language but a development of the old one.
The impulses given by Busoni and Möllendorf are known. The new possibilities of expression have been presented by or expected by all modern composers.
The usual signs of transpositions in use have been kept (sharps & flats).
The new signs are:
sharp by a quarter-of-tone
flat by a quarter-tone
As is customary, the natural sign is still used.
Example: A quarter-tone progression showing the new signs in use. [going from lowest pitch to highest]:
middle c
middle c increased by one quarter-tone
middle c sharped (by the usual half-step)
d lowered by a quarter-tone
d natural
d increased by one quarter-tone
e flat (i.e.: d sharped by the usual half-step)
In the parts I've designated the fingering and the strings to better inform the players of the new intonation, fingering, which seems to me necessary for this work, without, however, wanting to anticipate the complete solution of your quarter-tone playing.
Vienna, July 1920, Alois Hába [as translated by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE assisted by Google]
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