Steve Elcock
COMPOSER
Variations sur un thème de Francis Popy, op.42
(string quartet)
playing time : 16'
Francis Popy was a French composer. He was born in 1874 in Lyon and died in Belleville-sur-Saône in 1928. His music is representative of the Belle Epoque, with waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises, etc. and also much military music for marching. These six variations are based on the waltz Amour Bohème and make use specifically of the four descending notes played pizzicato by the cello in the opening bars of Popy's introduction, the first five notes of the theme itself and certain typical harmonic manoeuvres. The work was written for a concert in 2024 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Popy's birth.