Work
String Quartet I
for string quartet
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About
This piece is based on a transcription of Akhourian Bar; an Armenian dance from the Akhourian region. The recording was performed on Duduks by Hachik Khachaturian and Levon Madoyan (available on the "Armenian Festival" CD by Naxos). For most of the movements this transcription is hidden, with fragments of the Akhourian Bay emerging through rhythmic fragments and pitch material. The melody itself appears in Movement III, quoted by the Violoncello. The Viola repeats the melody in canon, leading to a restatement of the opening theme in the Violins.
This work is inspired partially by the landscape of New Zealand and how I imagine the landscape of Armenia. The Viola, for example, evokes a river in Movement II, III andIV, while the Violins imitate the sound of water droplets. The impact of World War I; the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, and the plight of the Armenian people 1915-1917 also played a major role in shaping this piece. The Turkish violence against the Armenians began days after the New Zealand troops fought at Gallipoli.
This work expresses my frustration at the ongoing conflict in the Middle East; the loss of land, the loss of resources, and loss of life.