Piece for Muted Strings (Elegiac Song)

1937

4 minutes

String quartet or string orchestra

March 26, 1939, New York City, Town Hall Club, League of Composers’ Concert, Frederick Dvonch, Dorothy Kesner, violins, Edward Neikrug,viola, and George Neikrug, cello

Fine composed this piece in response to the Spanish Civil War, and subtitled it “for the children of Spain.” Both she and her husband Ben actively opposed Franco and helped raise money for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a contingent of Americans who fought in the Spanish Republican Army against the Fascists.