quartet working drawing 6movt

This movement has always been the biggest challenge for me of the entire piece. The image of the archangels, the flaming swords, the fury,the blood, the destruction... And how to bring that all out in a way that isn't overdone or melodramatic. The music itself is so profound that the movement must be clean and precise without being too busy, ornate. I like the use of the swords and fabric. The fabric alone seemed to stand in front of the music, which isn't what I'm looking for...I want the sense of the musiccarrying the archangels or the archangels riding the music, there are moments when the cherubim or seraphims seem to walk through assisting in the process. I have the image of the earliest phases of the "final solution" before the camps had been constructed and were operating at full efficiency. The Jews were executed "by hand" that is they were shot in the back of the head. Soldiers were told to use only one bullet for each kill which meant point blank. They soldiers had not been trained to kill women and children, elders and had to be given large amounts of alcohol in order to carry out the task. One soldier explained that the only way he could force himself to follow his orders was to start with the parents. He found it easier to murder the children once the parents were dead because there would be no one to care for them.