La Douceur, from Heldenmusik (12 Heroic Marches) (string quartet)

Title: La Douceur, from Heldenmusik (12 Heroic Marches, No. 9)

Composer: Georg Philipp Telemann, arr. David Gable

Instrumentation: Violin 1; Violin 2; Viola; Cello

Printout: 4 pages

Note: Why, one might ask, is a piece called “sweetness” included in a set of “heroic” marches? Telemann was seeking not so much to express heroism as human virtues, so sweetness in the sense of pleasantness or affability could be at the top of anyone’s list. With its flowing melodic line and little conversational exchanges between violins, this moderately paced march puts me in mind of a quiet summer evening spent with old friends.

La Douceur is also available in the Bargain Bundle 12 Heroic Marches Set 3.