st(r)ay

Program note

Written early in 2006 on a commission from THE CHAMBER ENSEMBLE LEFT COAST in San Francisco, ST(R)AY was composed as a companion piece to Schubert's String Quintet in C, D. 956, particularly its second movement adagio.

This composition relies on some aspects found in the Schubert: the use of neighboring tones for harmony and melody, a certain idea of time suspended, and the constant harmonic reinterpretation of sustained notes.

The working title was ‘stay’, as I intended to write a piece completely static but, as it often happens, I couldn’t quite control the piece, and it escaped, thus becoming ‘stray’.

Details

Instrumentation

String Quintet (2 violins, viola, 2 cellos)

Duration

13'

Date

2006

COMMISSIONED BY

CHAMBER ENSEMBLE LEFT COAST with funds from the Argosy Foundation and Meet the Composer

Sheet music

Available upon request

First performance

Chamber Ensemble Left Coast (Anna Pressler, Phyllis Kamrin, violins; Kurt Rohde, viola; Tanya Tomkins, Leighton Fong, cellos) — San Francisco, CA, USA, May 2006

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