PAPER, GLASS, STRING & WOOD
Tina Davidson
About this work:
PAPER, GLASS, STRING & WOOD, a “side-by-side” work written for professional quartet to play with students (one advanced and the other intermediate) in four movements, “it is real music, with structure, mood, novelty, and harmonic sophistication – with haunting melodies that grow out of complex, repetitive rhythms” (Philadelphia Inquirer).
PAPER, GLASS, STRING & WOOD borrows the idea of the four classic elements (earth, air, fire and water) and uses them in terms of the artistic material – paper, glass, string and wood. Each movement is related both a physical sense of the element as well as an intuitive or spiritual sense; thus paper is to dream, glass is to be transparent and brittle, string is to weave (make connections), and wood is to build. The side-by-side nature of the piece is ultimately both a teaching tool and a wonderful opportunity to play ‘elbow to elbow’ with a professional quartet, learn the tricks of the trade, and find out, first hand, how to rehearse, perform a newly composed piece, and taste the excitement that comes with performing with mature artists.
(Also available for Double String Quartet)
Version: Triple String Quartet
Year composed: 2000
Duration: 00:24:51
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:String Quartet
Instrumentation: 2 Violin, 1 Viola, 1 Cello