SHADOW
for string quartet (2015)
Shadow is a four-movement piece for string quartet. In the first movement, "Pulse," I explore the various ways of interpreting rhythms in a groove-based pattern, presenting different possibilities for what the pulse of the music actually is in different sections of the movement. Interspersed with these rhythmic sections are ethereal, harmonics-based sections that provide a contrast in both timbre and mood.
In many dreams that I have, I see a recurring image of a shadowy, monolithic "thing"—what it actually is remains unclear to me, but it usually persists throughout the dream, always coming back in the same eerie way every time. The second movement, "Echo," features a recurring block chord with echoes, which for me represents this dream-object. The movement begins with a slow, lyrical viola solo that evolves into a more rhythmic, contrapuntal section led off by the second violin. The end of the movement returns to the viola solo, along with the ever-present "shadow" from the dream world.
The third movement, "Signals," is the shortest movement and features rhythmic hocket-like effects with various members of the quartet acting as "shadows" to the others. This music morphs into a section with more lyricism in the violins and cello, but with the viola persisting with rhythmic drive.
The final movement, "Forge," was inspired by a visit to the Carrie Furnaces, an abandoned steel mill near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Once a bustling center of industry in the first half of the twentieth century, the furnaces now remain dormant and empty. The movement begins active and rhythmic, reflecting the productive era of the past. The bulk of the movement contains slower, austere music that represents the current era. Interspersed with this slower music are icy harmonics-based statements of the more rhythmic music—the shadow of the past lying within the present.
In many dreams that I have, I see a recurring image of a shadowy, monolithic "thing"—what it actually is remains unclear to me, but it usually persists throughout the dream, always coming back in the same eerie way every time. The second movement, "Echo," features a recurring block chord with echoes, which for me represents this dream-object. The movement begins with a slow, lyrical viola solo that evolves into a more rhythmic, contrapuntal section led off by the second violin. The end of the movement returns to the viola solo, along with the ever-present "shadow" from the dream world.
The third movement, "Signals," is the shortest movement and features rhythmic hocket-like effects with various members of the quartet acting as "shadows" to the others. This music morphs into a section with more lyricism in the violins and cello, but with the viola persisting with rhythmic drive.
The final movement, "Forge," was inspired by a visit to the Carrie Furnaces, an abandoned steel mill near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Once a bustling center of industry in the first half of the twentieth century, the furnaces now remain dormant and empty. The movement begins active and rhythmic, reflecting the productive era of the past. The bulk of the movement contains slower, austere music that represents the current era. Interspersed with this slower music are icy harmonics-based statements of the more rhythmic music—the shadow of the past lying within the present.