INTUS TREPIDARE (Latin for “to tremble from within”) is the third string quartet by the Dutch composer Willem Jeths. It is a dramatic work—“hysterical music,” if one is to believe the composer’s own thumbnail description. Were it possible to transform the sound of this composition into electricity, it would probably generate enough energy to supply an entire apartment complex.

Within the first nine measures alone, the dynamics fluctuate between triple fortissimo and quadruple pianissimo; the tessitura spans from the lowest registers of the cello to beyond the edge of the violin’s fingerboard, while the nervous Trepidare rhythm makes its entrance.

Against these vast fields of dynamics and pitch stands a strictly limited amount of tonal material: the minor second and a trill, functioning as a boundary zone between single tone and interval. Gradually, these elements evolve, resolving into an octave and a minor third.

This reflects Jeths’ artistic philosophy: to generate maximum expressive power from highly focused, almost minimalist material. Melodies are rare, but constellations of colour abound. By extending the traditional quartet sound through scordatura, micro-intervals, and abrupt scratching effects, a personal and highly distinctive sonic world emerges.

During the compositional process, Jeths relies strongly on intuition. He sketches only the broad contours in advance, preserving a high degree of freedom. Because the material is limited and must be handled economically, all colours, rhythms, and moods crystallise into compact and powerful forms.

The only melodic motif—a joyful and triumphant outcry at the heart of INTUS TREPIDARE—is based on three measures from Alban Berg’s Lyrische Suite, a work that also served as an inspirational source for Jeths’ first string quartet, Arcate. This quotation from music history was a deliberate choice and simultaneously functions as an expansion of the “Intus Trepidare” motif.

In the second part, Subito calmo e intimo, the minor second again becomes central, now appearing as a sigh—a Seufzer. Gradually, Jeths builds the tension until the “Intus Trepidare” motif returns in an ecstatic explosion. From that moment on, all energy and electrical charge is released from the piece.

In the ensuing vacuum, the cello reaches toward a new existence in almost unplayable high registers, while the violinist retunes the G string downward into searching darkness. With a final pizzicato, the last remnants of energy are expelled into the air. The work dissolves into silence—into the emptiness of a space without vibration.

—Béla Lüttmer

(Translation: Theodore Diehl)

(Premiere: 16 October 2004 – Muziekcentrum Frits Philips, Eindhoven – Kronos Quartet)