Output details

Insects in amber for string quartet

Insects in Amber is part of a series of works exploring sounds from the natural world through Darwinian mechanisms of competition and organisation. The quartet employs transcribed insect calls in dramatic dialogues between instruments, where competition between subsets of overtly aggressive and more peaceful members of the same species is mapped onto the instrumental writing. The source is zoological research, but the musical result is a sense of characterization, one that avoids a programmatic narrative.

Movement one, ‘Gryllus Integer’, opens with two instruments playing calls of the Western Stutter-Trilling Cricket in melodic and rhythmic permutations. A more elaborate cricket call is pitted against a simple rhythmic call, generating responses from the remaining instruments. The second section explores another conclusion from insect research: the timid behaviour that has been linked to the elaborateness of the cricket’s call. In the movement, the speed of motivic repetition is proportional to the simplicity of the call – the shorter the call, the more it is repeated - and the lengths of the phrases change accordingly.

In contrast, movement two, ‘Double Viols’, takes up the second part of the quartet’s title, ‘Amber’, by recreating the sensibility of ‘ancient’ music, epitomised by the sonority of the viol. The movement ends with a quotation of the cricket call, linking the disparate sources of the movements.

Movement three, ‘Figwasps’, explores insect behaviour in a more combative manner, using glass rods as a percussive element throughout. The timbral quality of the glass provides a cold, insect-like sonority while adding an unusual visual element to the performance. The quartet is divided into two opposing duos: 1st violin with viola pitted against 2nd violin with cello. Accelerated rhythmic banter adds humour and virtuosity to the opening and final sections of the movement.