This piece is an arrangement of the second movement of my String Quartet.
The second movement of the string quartet is the only movement that remains in a single tempo (all the other movements explore the contrast of fast and slow material).At the core of this movement is the exploration and distortion of a single “traditional” chord (a major 7th chord). Slow glissandi and gradually shifting microtonal harmonies give the piece most of its character with the effect being similar to looking through a kaleidoscope and very, very gradually turning the end.Several possible pairs of 2-note chords are locked in the major 7th chord and, although different pairings are explored, I have focused on the two pairs of fifths, stacked a major third apart.The pairs, gradually diverge and although the major 7th chord does briefly resurface in the middle of the piece. It is not until the final bars that kaleidoscope comes full circle back to the opening tetra-chord.
The first playthrough of the string quartet version was in a workshop with the New-York based Rubio Quartet in the Wigmore Hall the day after the 9/11 attacks. The piece make's a frighteningly appropriate tribute to the tragedy with it's slow, swirling cluster chords and contemplative harmonies. The quartet commented that they had found it emotionally impossible to rehearse the piece on the 11th because of this.
