My Arrangement of "Never Gonna Give You Up" for nontraditional string quartet (Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass)

This is a sort of waltzy arrangement of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" for a quartet of violin, viola, cello, and double bass. This was originally a school assignment and was completed in late 2020. I was lucky enough to have this performed (albeit not in a quartet setting, as everyone had to record separately).

https://youtu.be/GLwdHqTfJaA

Hopefully you enjoy!

This is funny and beautiful. Perhaps there is too much weight in the pulsating rhythm all along the piece.

Well - this is quite a quaint little variation of the well known (and sometimes loathed) melody!  I think it has a really beautiful innocent character to it that the original song lacks.  I think you did a great job arranging this for this unique ensemble!  The chamber music forum has officially been rick-rolled!  LoL  Thanks for writing and sharing this!  I hope they don't go after you for copyright infringement! LoL

Cool! I love the way you modified the melody to fit into 3/4. I notice that only the violin and viola ever get the melody (the cello and bass play more or less the same thing over and over again) and there aren't ever any modulations or borrowed/chromatic notes. Introducing some new harmonic material (especially during the chorus) would help this feel a bit less repetitive. Not sure how I feel about the piece ending on a D/G chord. But overall, it sounds really nice, and it's a really clever reimagining of the song! Nice work.