4 players: string quartet - The Order of Things

Ensemble: string quartet

Duration: 25 minutes

Commissioned by: Satellite Collective

Premiere: (with dancers) Grand Rapids Ballet, Grand Rapids, MI; (as concert work) Mriya Gallery, New York City, NY

Published by: Yes Daedalus Music

Note:

"The Order of Things" was originally written as the score to Liar Lear King, a ballet choreographed by Danielle Rowe and commissioned by Satellite Collective in 2022. The ballet follows the five acts of King Lear, beginning with his challenge to his daughters and ultimately leading to his madness and undoing. Because the ballet is narrative, the music is loosely programmatic as well: the cello mapped to Lear’s stormy, sorrowful presence; the first violin channeling Cordelia’s sweetness and warmth; the second violin and viola giving voice to the other bickering sisters. When I’m writing for string quartet, I often think of the group as a family in conversation: shouting, whispering, agreeing, interrupting. But it’s rare I get the opportunity to do it so literally, and with such a famous family.

Perusal score: view here