"Sarabande" from "Stratigraphy" by Peter Myers
Performed by SAKURA Cello Quintet (Peter Myers, Benjamin Lash, Stella Cho, Yoshika Masuda, and Michael Kaufman)
Louis Ng, director
Composer’s note:
What started out as a single idea of a descending chord sequence in late 2015 unfurled itself first into a chaconne-like set of variations, and over the next few years three other preceding movements grew into being as the larger structure of the piece became clear. Throughout the composition of "Stratigraphy", various images were present in my mind, relating to the earth sciences which have long enchanted me with their awesome scale and variety: the characteristic layers of sedimentary deposition folded and warped by gargantuan tectonic forces, the vertiginous chasm of deep time, and the unfolding stages of geology and evolutionary biology. Indeed the long-simmering compositional history of the piece itself mimics these slow processes, its complexity arising out of simple beginnings, and ideas being continually revamped or sometimes jettisoned over the years.
The kernel for the second movement, “Sarabande”, began as a simple self-replicating chord progression: a biological metaphor. I knew I needed something gentle and reflective to follow the turbulence of the opening movement, and I soon noticed the chords had fallen into the rhythmic pattern of a sarabande, a slow and stately Baroque dance form. The movement opens with a tentative, breathing figure, evoking nocturnal waves lapping on an ancient shoreline; a kind of processional ensues as the music builds ever more brilliantly ecstatic, as life developing into higher and higher forms. Upon reaching the extreme highest register of the cello, there is a sudden collapse and a return to the stillness of the opening scene, this time darkened by the addition of a wistful solo cello: a post-apocalyptic echo, perhaps, of what once was.
I want to thank my colleagues of SAKURA for their invaluable insights into my music and for their artistry that has over the years made me a better cellist and musician.
-Peter Myers
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