Written during a pandemic that practically shut down live music, and during a time of decreased global cooperation, the Harpsichord Quintet reflects my desire to focus on those abstract qualities of music that transcend earthly concerns.
The harpsichord is by nature constant, in that it cannot play louder or softer. In my piece its constancy is emphasized by its habit of playing groups of five notes — holding firmly to the idea of a “quintet”.
The strings, by contrast, indulge in a variety of episodes that don’t always involve four players. What is constant is that each instrument draws its repertoire from a pattern of only three notes. At regular intervals the patterns are changed. These changes occur at different times for each player, so the repertoire of the quartet as a whole evolves bit by bit, like the patterns seen in a kaleidoscope as it turns.
The first example of this occurs toward the end of the first minute. Each instrument is cued to change its repertoire by a bell-like chord in the harpsichord. This can be heard four times, once for each string player. Later changes are signalled not by bells but by other obvious markers such as tremolo, trills or plucked notes.
In broad overview it’s a piece about things that happen periodically — like the ticking of a clock — and things that change. What’s periodic undergoes change, while changes happen periodically.
Toward the end, the very existence of the music becomes periodic, with the strings fading out and in several times.
Enough abstraction; I really want people just to enjoy listening.