Jump (2021)

for string quartet (8min)

This turbulent piece attempts to go some way in capturing the contradictory sensations and emotions associated with the feeling of jumping (and later falling). Although a jump may only last seconds, the experience of it may seem to be much longer, an effect which is mirrored in the disjuncture between the tempi and the temporal proportions of the piece. Formally, the piece can be seen as divided into two main sections -a fast initial section with unrelenting motion that occupies the bulk of the piece and an ensuing shorter slow section that interrupts the first section. A short coda serves to close the piece. All of the material used in this piece derives from the opening, with the slow section metamorphosing the undulating scalic material in particular. The transformation of this material prepares the subtle entry of the Dies Irae in the cello in the slow section, albeit extremely augmented. The use of the Dies Irae here perhaps hints a less than desirable outcome of the "jump" presented in this piece.

— Tan Tiag Yi

Please contact me for a perusal copy of the score.