Two Violins

2020
5 mins
violin duet


Performance by Semra Lee & Zak Rowntree

Programme Note

Like the title suggests, this work is a duo for violins. One plays a drone that is built around the violin’s open strings. It is played across two strings and peppered with grace notes. Gradually, the note falls on one of the strings, but stays fixed on the other until it lands on the next open string. The other violin plays fragments of melodic material that originate from sketches of my violin concerto Golden Years . Each fragment has a kind of free-floating, almost improvised quality to it. However, the material is strictly handled. Each phrase appears twice, but on the second iteration the music is reversed, either exactly or a transposition. At the work’s halfway point both instruments play drones, pass each other the baton so to speak, before moving on with their roles now swapped. This short, five-minute piece is calm and reflective: wispy melodic fragments set in relief to a drone that descends almost imperceptibly over the entire duration.

To borrow or purchase the score and parts from the Australian Music Centre click here

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