String Quartet String Quartet - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.754150 Composed by Nick Raspa. 20th Century. Score and parts. 46 pages. NJR Music #2069333. Published by NJR Music (A0.754150). The title of this piece is the spacial configuration of the DNA molecule. The physical representation of the molecule, in this work, is from that of the outside observer. The DNA molecule, as we know, is represented as a curved ladder. The rungs of the ladder contain all the vital information necessary for us to be individuals. The rungs are held in place by vertical structures much like that of the standard ladder. This ladder is often depicted as swiveling and, as such, the rungs of the ladder are quite visible at times and disappear at other times. The outsider observer will see those rungs for a period of time and, as the ladder swivels, the rungs disappear and all that is visible, to the observer, are the vertical structures. The physical representation of the swiveling DNA molecule is represented musically with the quartet moving back and forth between a monophonic and polyphonic. There are also variations in tempo which relate to the movement between the monophonic and polyphonic states (a speeding up during the approach to viewing only the vertical braces). The philosophical perspective relates to the fact that this molecule is common to all of humanity at the same time that it separates each and every one of us. It is ironic that something that keeps all of us separate, at the same time unifies us. There is no doubt that we are all unified, yet intrinsically different. Being cut from the same (high grade) cloth, we are all the same, and yet, we may have different colors and patterns. The piece ends with an oscillation between two pitches ultimately resolving to one pitch.
