In Clean Air Cover Image

In Clean Air: String Quartet Score & Parts

$20.95 USD
$20.95 USD
Skip to product information
In Clean Air Cover Image
In Clean Air: String Quartet Score & Parts

In Clean Air: String Quartet Score & Parts

By Jonathan Dove

Level: Intermediate

Item: 98-EP73523
$20.95
Shipped

One moment…

Description
In March 2020, the Matangi Quartet (who had recently featured my work in their Unheard festival in The Hague) invited me to contribute to a series of 90-second pieces they were commissioning, hoping for melodies with healing powers for that difficult time.
It was the beginning of the first lockdown, and strangely, in London, the sky was startlingly blue. Without traffic fumes or aeroplane trails, it had never seemed so clear. It sent a message that not everything was terrible. Perhaps it was even hinting at what a better life might look like. I found myself wondering what that sky might sound like as music.

In Clean Air is the simplest possible statement of an idea that I would develop more fully in the last movement of my second string quartet.

This product is Printed on Demand and may take several weeks to fulfill. Please order from your favorite retailer.

In Clean Air: String Quartet Score & Parts isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.

Request This Title

Tell us you want it.

Start Your Free Trial

Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Pages

Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Series: Edition Peters
Publisher: Edition Peters
Page Count: 12
ISBN10: 0-57-702084-6
ISBN13: 979-057-702-0846
UPC: 9790577020846
SKU: 98-EP73523

More about this title

About the Composer: Jonathan Dove

Jonathan Dove is a British composer whose work spans opera, orchestral music, choral literature, and chamber pieces. His compositions are performed internationally and have been championed by ensembles including the London Sinfonietta, BBC orchestras, and chamber groups across Europe. Dove's writing combines lyrical melodic invention with structural clarity, making his music accessible to performers and audiences alike while maintaining artistic depth.

His creative practice extends beyond composition into mentoring emerging musicians and collaborating directly with performers. The commissioning of In Clean Air by the Matangi Quartet exemplifies his engagement with living ensembles and his responsiveness to real human moments in time.

Why we love this

This piece captures something extraordinary in its brevity: a complete artistic statement rooted in a specific historical moment that feels universally resonant. Dove's decision to translate a visual phenomenon (that impossibly clear pandemic sky) into pure sound creates a natural bridge between the literal and the musical that listeners find genuinely moving, making it a compelling choice for programs exploring how composers respond to lived experience.

What to expect

Luminous and quietly affirmative without sentimentality. The piece breathes like something observed from stillness, with a melody that feels both simple and surprisingly profound. There is an underlying hopefulness here, not despite constraint but because of it.

Who it's for

Intermediate string quartets looking for contemporary repertoire that is genuinely playable and deeply musical. This works equally well for community ensembles, university string quartet programs, or advanced high school groups with solid intonation and rhythmic maturity.

How to get the most out of it

  • Pay attention to the long lines and resist the urge to over-phrase. The simplicity Dove describes is only effective if performers trust the melody's own arc.
  • Balance transparency with warmth in the accompaniment voices; this is chamber writing where every part matters, and muddiness will obscure the piece's essential clarity.
  • Approach the dynamic markings as subtle shadings rather than dramatic shifts. The healing quality emerges from restraint, not expression driven by force.

How to use it

This functions beautifully as a concert opener or as a restorative piece bracketing more demanding repertoire. Its brevity and contemporary provenance make it ideal for programs pairing classical and modern works, or for concerts exploring how music responds to social moments.

Skills your students will build

  • Sustaining long melodic lines with consistent tone and intonation
  • Balancing ensemble transparency when accompanying rather than leading
  • Shaping phrasing in contemporary music without relying on Romantic-era rubato conventions
  • Responding to composer's intent through restraint and simplicity

You May Also Like