in spaces between (2019)
a passacaglia
11 minutes
for string quartet
Commissioned by and dedicated to the Zephyr Quartet, in celebration of 20 years of music making.
First performance by the Flinders Quartet on July 20th, 2022 at Tempo Rubato, Brunswick, Melbourne.
in spaces between was selected as part of the Flinders Quartet 'Ascend Program' in 2022.
a passacaglia
11 minutes
for string quartet
Commissioned by and dedicated to the Zephyr Quartet, in celebration of 20 years of music making.
First performance by the Flinders Quartet on July 20th, 2022 at Tempo Rubato, Brunswick, Melbourne.
in spaces between was selected as part of the Flinders Quartet 'Ascend Program' in 2022.
in spaces between is a meditation upon the struggle of finding inspiration to compose within the small spaces in one's life. This is an experience all composers must deal with at one time or another, yet it seems especially pertinent to the life of the working mother, who also happens to be a composer. Where is the space to allow thoughts and ideas to flow freely? What happens to one's voice when their ideas are squeezed into such narrow, tight spaces?
The work's opening chorale - naive, simplistic, hopeful - is interrupted again and again as it attempts to 'become' something. A series of episodes or variations, built upon an often disguised ground bass, explore alternate states of confinement, monotony and uncertainty, eventually giving way to inspiration.
This piece was hard work. Be it life imitating art, or vice versa, I often felt I was wrenching the notes into existence, despite my clarity of concept. Whether or not the sound world here speaks of the issue it seeks to reflect, the process of writing it certainly did.
Finally, in celebration of a 20-year association with the wonderful Zephyr Quartet, the theme for this work is borrowed from the first piece I ever composed for them, Repetito, it too a passacaglia.
© Anne Cawrse, August 5th, 2019
The work's opening chorale - naive, simplistic, hopeful - is interrupted again and again as it attempts to 'become' something. A series of episodes or variations, built upon an often disguised ground bass, explore alternate states of confinement, monotony and uncertainty, eventually giving way to inspiration.
This piece was hard work. Be it life imitating art, or vice versa, I often felt I was wrenching the notes into existence, despite my clarity of concept. Whether or not the sound world here speaks of the issue it seeks to reflect, the process of writing it certainly did.
Finally, in celebration of a 20-year association with the wonderful Zephyr Quartet, the theme for this work is borrowed from the first piece I ever composed for them, Repetito, it too a passacaglia.
© Anne Cawrse, August 5th, 2019