titled string quartet (2003-04)
I wrote this piece after String Trio for Bill was performed, finding I liked it, and wanted to develop what it contained further. Some of the music in titled (originally named "untitled") is quite similar - almost a copy - with the trio, and some a straight-forward development of technique. Additionally, there is one aspect of titled which is different, in fact the start of a new direction. That is the use of miming, which I found useful for more than one reason. It originally occured as a solution to a problem, in which I needed to expend "forte" energy, yet somehow didn't want loud sound! Based on our experience with other concerts, we posit onto the mimed image "loud" (if they are moving that way), yet there is no sound. The other use I found for it was in its similarity with dance, and some portions of titled are actually choreographed of bow movements, intended to be graceful in and of themselves.
Formally, the piece is designed as repetitions of the same form in ever larger periods of time, like ripples in a pool of water (I am unsure as to how audible this is). The piece was performed at Tivoli Concert Hall as part of the 60th Anniversary concert of the UNM festival.
Listen to a recording (Ziapolski Quartet):
07 titled string quartet
Get the score here:
titled_string_quartet