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Compositions —

Tidal Changes excerpt
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Tidal Changes

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2025 • 17 minutes • String quartet

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“Tidal Changes” (2024) evokes the continual rising and falling of ocean tides characterized by three main stages: flow, slack and ebb.  Tidal currents constantly move and change direction while smooth surface textures can accompany strong turbulent underwater currents. The piece conveys this kind of watery activity: the two outer movements, “Flow” and “Ebb,” follow swirling eddies of sound, speeding up and slowing down, imitating the circular motion of a tidal “gyre,” while the middle “Slack” movement is both more static and playful. Moving the violist and cellist closer to the audience and tuning the cello’s lowest string down from C to G audience emphasizes the darker colours of the quartet while placing the violist in the leadership position usually occupied by the first violinist changes the group’s power dynamics.  

 

The title “Tidal changes” also carries existential and political resonances. The Buddhist concept of impermanence teaches that the only constant is change, while the saying “the tide will change” suggests future possibilities of powerful deep levels of change not necessarily evident in the present, and is also a reminder of the inevitable cyclic nature of the ebb and flow of life.  The work was commissioned by the Penderecki String Quartet. 

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