for string quartet
Duration: 21 minutes
Three Pieces for String Quartet is a set of movements of very distinct and individualized character. Each movement can be performed alone in concert, but when performed together should always be played in the designated order.
The title of the first movement, Looking Forward, Back and Now, is a reflection upon the work’s form. From beginning to end there is a sense of departure and return, with a clear midpoint, but also a continual progression. Just as in a physical journey from one place to another, and then back to the beginning, the traveler has returned, but is also seeing the return route from a different perspective. One’s experiences on the way to the middle color one’s experiences on the way back.
Shadow Play explores the ways identical sounds can be experienced differently across time. While writing the piece I found that its subtly varying textures suggested the play of light that occurs throughout a day, and in particular the different shapes, lengths, and densities that a single object’s shadow can manifest as time passes.
The last movement, With The Current, was inspired by the concepts of motion and gradual, evolutionary change, especially as they apply to musical time.