Between the Accidental (2010)

for string quartet
6 minutes

WORLD PREMIERE
The Hear Now Festival
May 3, 2014, Los Angeles, CA
Recording: Carrie Kennedy, violin I; Ina Veli, violin II; Charles Hebenstreit, viola; Lars Hoefs, cello

Between the Accidental juxtaposes highly dissonant sonorities with modal melodies. The main theme is a cascading, triadic figure that lands on B. The motif permeates to the other voices until the first section ends abruptly with all four instruments uniting on a C-sharp, shifting the tonal center up by a whole-step. The rapid thematic gestures build once more, only to be stopped again by a slower exploration of the modal material. The melodies entwine, shaping a four-voice counterpoint. They slowly build toward the conclusion, an emphatic outburst of the opening theme.