SKU: A0.953813

This land singing for string quartet by Haydn Reeder: program note This piece which runs for seven and a half minutes was completed in 2013. There are two elements in this work which represent interests that can be heard in other compositions of mine. The first is an interest in Australian Aboriginal chanting and this is heard in the opening and closing melodies played by the cello. It seems to influence other parts of the piece, there being quite a lot of melodic writing. It can also be felt in the Postlude. The second interest is in birdsong. However, the relevant section which occurs some way into the piece has its origins in flight formations, in this case the way a flock lands. Here, each of the higher instruments plays similar material independently. Gestures of a more aggressive nature usually featuring tremolo are introduced, developed and subsequently recede, providing a background to wide-ranging melodic lines. The Postlude, with its insistence on accumulating chords by means of slow upbeats produces a dream-like atmosphere to close the work. H.R.

SKU: A0.953836

This string quartet movement is the first of three which can be played separately or as a set. The others are titled Breathing and Drama, also available here.  Moving Between requires a modicum of theatrical movement / gestures by the players.

Composed in 2010, Moving Between has its origins in the abstract thinking which characterized some of my earlier pieces such as Diasynthèse for piano or Chromatalea for small ensemble. A fuller title may have been Moving Between Extremes, as it deals with the contrast between monody (unaccompanied melody) and the simultaneous sounding of different pitches (harmony).

Transforming one of these extreme types of texture into the other is achieved in a number of ways.  There are areas where such a transformation is taking place; however, quite often a texture arrived at remains the same for some time.  The piece has the potential to evolve further along its own free-wheeling path.

SKU: A0.1155519

Students and professionals alike will enjoy this straightforward piece. The main thing is to take care of the tuning of the double-stops. There is obvious reference to the title in the repeated time signatures, the dynamics and the thick texture. This movement, the second of a set of three,is quite short, probably because the opening harmony has a strong presence either by interrupting or becoming a point of return and also, being a symmetrical chord, has a calming effect within other contexts.

SKU: A0.1156082

A fuller title may have been Moving Between Extremes since it deals with the contrast between monody and harmony. Transforming one texture into the other is done in a number of ways. There are not only areas where transformation is occurring, but also others where a texture remains the same for some time.