Ainsi la nuit

Ainsi la nuit (Thus the Night) is a string quartet written by the French composer Henri Dutilleux between 1973 and 1976. It was premiered in 1977 by the Quatuor Parrenin.

It is considered one of the most important works in the genre and has been called "... one of the treasures of the 20th century quartet repertoire". The piece has been recorded many times by several prominent ensembles.

Ainsi la nuit was commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation for the Juilliard Quartet. It is dedicated "to the memory of Ernest Sussman and in homage to Olga Koussevitzky".

Before starting to work on the piece, Dutilleux studied the string quartets of Beethoven and Bartók as well as Webern's Six Bagatelles. The composer stated that the latter were a particularly important influence for Ainsi la nuit. He first wrote a series of preliminary studies titled Nuits (Nights), some of which were sent to the Juilliard Quartet in 1974. However, the work in its final form was premiered by the Quatuor Parrenin on January 6, 1977. The Juilliards gave the American première of the piece in Washington, D.C., on April 13, 1978.

The piece is based on series of studies which focus on different aspects of sound production: pizzicatos, harmonics, dynamics, contrasts, opposition of register. It is built from a single hexachord that contains the notes C♯ – G♯ – F – G – C – D, thus highlighting the intervals of fifth and major second. This chord constitutes the basis from which the whole string quartet is derived. The octatonic mode is also used extensively throughout the work.

Ainsi la nuit displays progressive growth, a technique frequently used by Dutilleux and through which musical motifs can both recall music that was heard in earlier sections or hint at music that will be fully developed in later movements.

There's a tendency—it's almost entirely intuitive—not to present the theme in its definitive state at the beginning. [T]here are small cells which develop bit by bit. ...This may perhaps show the influence of literature, of Proust and his notions about memory.

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Wikipedia