Moments Like Water (2020)
for harp and string quartet, or solo harp
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PROGRAM NOTE
Moments Like Water, for harp and string quartet, was commissioned by harpist Katie Buckley and the Siggi String Quartet, with additional support provided by Western Illinois University, Petrified Forest National Park, and Copland House. As the work unfolds over a span of 20 minutes, a collection of three pitches gradually increases by one, two, and then three additional pitches until it becomes a group of six. At its mid-point the work reverses course, and the three "new" pitches slowly dissipate. The harp part, which may also be performed alone as an unaccompanied solo, is a rhythmic articulation of a three-strand polyrhythm of 9:10:11. The string quartet remains mostly in the background, sustaining notes articulated by the harp to produce a reverberant halo of timbre.