Releasing Anamnesis
String Quartet no. 1
2004 | ca. 14 min
Premiere: 30 November 2004, The Composers' Quartet,
The Music Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Programme notes
Releasing Anamnesis represents a contemplation of my musical memory. My intention was to compose with a more pluralistic musical language than usual, one that would reflect the countless, intermingled and fragmented musical afterimages of my musical past.
The quartet evokes an array of references ranging from the Baroque to contemporary music; strong modal and diatonic implications are juxtaposed with nontonal and extended techniques, resulting in a rather fluid and episodic form.
The work is in two movements which are played without a break. The first is mostly static and slow, while the second explores a much wider range of tempi and rhythmic activity.
This work is dedicated to Jean Lesage, my former composition teacher between 2002 and 2004.
R. A. Baker