“Hey Karen.” [My younger sister.]
“Yes?”
“Might you know a good traditional fiddle tune I might use for the basis of a “Theme and Variations” movement for my string quartet?”
“Uh…” [Several days passed. She was researching.] “…Yes, I do! Here are a couple of Irish jigs that might work.”
I was so enamored with the jig I chose (“Scatter the Mud”) that I included the entire thing as the theme for this movement. In a fit of largesse, I gave that solo to the otherwise-much-maligned 2nd violin. That proved to be genius (allow me some hyperbole here), since the virtual instrument I was using for 2nd violin was the perfect tone and style for a jig, making the whole movement come alive even though performed by “machine.” I did manage to include a bunch of variation into the movement, but not enough to remove the overall feel for the original jig. I probably had as much fun writing this movement as I had any of the others. And the results are probably the least demanding for the listener. Here’s the page you can find it on.