this memory of earth

About

Our earliest memories of the land shape who we are, and become a part of our identity. Early experiences are stored as implicit memory, formed before conscious recollection is possible, but remembered by our bodies, our senses, our emotional responses as we move through life. In a time when our world is under such threat, these threads of memory nudge us, reminding us of what we must treasure, reclaim, rebuild; the smell of rain, the coolness of shadowy trees, the roar of the sea, the cry of a bird in the night.

This quartet too is built of such snatches of melody, rhythmic fragments, overlapping textures, and abrupt interruptions, interwoven and accumulating throughout the course of the work. The title ‘this memory of earth’ is borrowed from ‘Fields in Midsummer’ by New Zealand poet Ruth Dallas. The work is dedicated to the New Zealand String Quartet, and was first performed by them in an online concert on 15 May 2020.