Based on string piece ‘Phantom Red‘ written in early 2023 ‘Noxia‘ takes on a new meaning. Piece for string section (vln.,vla., vlc., cb.) about guilt and self-loathing carefully depicted in movement inspired in Butoh by Chander Van Daatselaar.
‘Noxia’ in Latin means guilt. The piece depicts the feeling of guilt as a stage of grief. In the context of ‘Requiem Moderna‘ it represents stage 3 (guilt). Its vocabulary oscillates around self-loathing, sentimental longing and frantic movements. The piece is an extensive exploration of the musical range and characters of stringed instruments.
Inspired by Tenney’s ‘Koan‘, this piece focuses on exploring glissandi as a way of moving between pitches. I also wanted to explore the idea of having next-to-zero melody, to see whether I can achieve the effect of soft, moving textures.
Bringing a more tonal context helps the listener in recognising the shifting tones. In the search for perhaps an unusual textures, I asked performers to play molto sul ponticello at times, as well as sul tasto.
Harmonics effectively contrast long and rich-sounding chords as well as add movement within the piece.
Special thanks to Chander Van Daatselaar for an immense contribution to the project as well as Valentina Vidal for movement support.
Performed by:
violin – Andrew Liddell
viola – Rachel Miller
cello – Lily Hope
double bass – Alexander Ferkey
Camera: Vojta Stanek, Alejandro Prada, Kit Venables.
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