Silences (2016)

For string quartet [~6:30].

Silences was inspired by the music of composers Andrew Norman and Morton Feldman. It has two themes that interact with and yet behave independently from each other. The first theme is a sustained sul ponticello note played by one or two instrumentalists, resulting in a thin, glassy sound. The second theme is a progression of three chords played by two to four instrumentalists. The harmonies of the chords, and the vertical density and weighting of pitches within the chords, evoke different degrees of freedom versus structure in the sound. Vertical density refers to the size of intervals between pitches. Both themes repeat with subtle variation interspersed with periods of silence.
This piece does not have a discernible tempo or time signature. In place of a perceivable, standard fixed time signature, sound simply occurs in absolute time as we experience it, similar to the way traditional chant is sung.