In two movements. The first movement was premiered at my Masters degree recital in 2003, and subsequently performed at the Sonic Boom festival in Vancouver in 2006 by the Yaletown string quartet. The second movement was composed as part of my doctoral degree portfolio, and is awaiting performance.
String Quartet
2004,
26’
For string quartet: two violins, viola, cello.
Program notes
(first movement)
The work presented here is the first movement of a two-movement work for string quartet. This movement presents a gradual process of development, whereby a short melodic unit is explored with progressively greater depth and intensity. At various points in the work, the players are instructed to use bow speeds that are slower or faster than they would ordinarily use, in order to achieve subtle timbral variations; by carefully adjusting the bow pressure and speed, it is possible for the string player to alter the timbre of the sound while keeping the dynamic level constant. The small-scale transitions from slow to fast bow speeds can be heard as miniature representations of the general large-scale progression of the piece.
