Procession

Description

Audio

Duration

7 min.

Instrumentation

Violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello

Program Notes

When writing my first string quartet, I focused on writing music in which I could disguise the four similar timbres as one large instrument.  Procession requires intense focus on the part of the performers, as it maintains a very strict tempo throughout the duration of the piece.  This obsession over pulse gradually breaks down as the music progresses, slowly transforming itself before the listener and unraveling like ancient, dusty banners unfurling in front of bystanders during a solemn march.

“. . . Heavy banners unfurled, their emblems of origin long since faded.  They hung limp in the motionless air, tired even before the commencing of the long march.  Then, with only the slightest of signals, the banner-posts were hoisted.  Clouds of dust arose from the earth as leaden feet moved slowly forward.  The Procession had begun.”