Thirteen Pieces for String Quartet by Ash Madni

Last week, four of us entered the studio to record thirteen pieces written for String Quartet by the composer Ash Madni. The disc is to be released under the name ‘the Monzi Quartet’ and the players were myself and Judith Templeman on violins, with Adrian Smith on viola and Tony Woollard on ‘cello.

The pieces seemed to settle into three groups – the first were five movements entitled ‘Mystic Thoughts’, the second were three movements called ‘Sounds from the Bazaar’. Both of these were inspired by the composers Indian heritage and upbringing in Dubai. The third group were five miscellaneous pieces with titles such as ‘Human Enigma’ and ‘Confusion’.

The music was highly active in nature with a virtuosic quality that kept us all on our toes throughout the two full days of recording which took place at MBJ studios with the expert help of engineer Ben Jones (who we frequently work with). All the pieces employ many percussive pizzicato effects with trills and glissandi as well as a modal feel in places.

We wish Ash every success with the release of this disc and look forward to working with him again in the future.