Deep Summer Folklore

Instrumentation: string quartet

Year: 2023

Duration: 11 minutes

Program Note:
I wrote Deep Summer Folklore over the summer of 2023 for my friends in the Daedalus Quartet.  At the time, I had been thinking about the relationship between instruments and genre.  What kind of music do we hear when we think of a particular instrument?  Something like the oboe feels firmly rooted in Classical music, for instance.  But string instruments, especially the violin, occupy several spaces.  The violin has an incredibly rich history in Classical music, but it is also an important folk instrument and has crossed over into other genres such as blues, hip hop, and rock.  This piece draws on the stylistic eclecticism of string instruments, incorporating elements from various musical genres.  The folk and rock influences are quite strong and overt, and several of the parts were originally written for electric guitar.   These varied elements all coalesce – hopefully – to form a driving and effervescent piece that goes through various distinct but related sections.  I am incredibly thankful to the Daedalus Quartet, whose thoughtful consideration and comments helped bring this piece to life. 

Audio coming soon…