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Quartet for Flute and Strings (1984) |
For flute, violin, viola and cello - c. 20'
In form the work aims at the quality of a mosaic. It is in three movements, the first presenting the material in the framework of fragmented palindromes. This creates a clear-cut arch form, the exposition presenting the flute in dramatic mood with an intense accompaniment from the strings. The central episode is made up of two palindromic sections which interlace in the sense that the mirror is not turned until two images have been presented. The recapitulation is a mirror of the exposition. The second movement explores the various sonorities of all the instruments, from multiphonics and quartertones on the flute to slap-string pizzicati on the strings. The fragmented events are linked by two rhapsodic melodic sections from the flute.
In contrast, the last movement is intensely rhythmic in design. The thematic material is woven around organic time relationships which intensify the effect of mosaic in that several fragments of varying colours and tempi derived from the same material are united by a constant rhythmic relationship. For much of the time the flute is set in relief against the strings, emphasising the virtuoso role which the flautist sustains throughout the work. The inevitable conclusion of a cadenza is not resisted and leads to an extended coda which builds up contrapuntal complexity. The work ends with all the instruments finally playing in rhythmic unison.