Richard Carrick
Space:Time
for electric guitar and string quartet
(2018)Duration | 16' |
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Movements | I. Claustrophobia II. Gravity III. Space Travel IV. Coda "Into the Light” |
Commission | Commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation |
Premiere | Originally scored for String Quartet and premiered May 23, 2015 by the Mivos String Quartet at the DiMenna Center in NYC. The Electric Guitar and String Quartet version was premiered by the Mivos String Quartet and Nadav Lev at the Israeli Composers League Festival at Ran Baron Hall in Tel Aviv, Israel October 6, 2018 |
Instrumentation | Electric Guitar, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello |
Technical requirements | The guitarist benefits from using: E-bow Metal slide Cello bow Distortion pedal Freeze Pedal (if available) Volume changes can be done with either volume pedal (preferred) or volume knob. |
Publisher | PSNY |
Media
Program Note
I find the physical barriers of space travel fascinating. For this new string quartet my speculative interest focused on three notions of the physical. Drawing parallels to Newton’s three laws of motion, point, velocity and acceleration, Space:Time has three layers of intensifying activity in musical sounds.
The first movement, claustrophobia, captures a metrically rigid yet evolving musical landscape, starting in the upper stratosphere and capturing specific points in time. The second movement, gravity, gently bounces two pitches in counterpoint across all registers. And the palindromic third movement, space travel, approaches the concept of acceleration by putting meter, wavelike gestures, and each of the four instruments through constantly intensifying (and then relaxing) music. The final Coda - into the light, is an homage to the music of Horatiu Radulescu.
This piece, originally scored for String Quartet, was made possible by a grant from the Fromm Music Foundation. The quartet version was premiered by the Mivos Quartet May 23, 2015 at the DiMenna Center in NYC. The Electric Guitar and String Quartet version was premiered by the Mivos String Quartet and Nadav Lev at the Israeli Composers League Festival at Ran Baron Hall in Tel Aviv, Israel October 6, 2018.
– Richard Carrick