Speaking in Sympathy

duration - 6.5 minutes. String Quartet (2024)

“We could be like two strings beating, speaking in sympathy.” -Kate Bush, “Love and Anger”

This piece explores the relationship between each member of the quartet, as they echo each other’s motives and textures, each instrument speaking in sympathy with the others. Additionally, the motivic content of the piece is centered around the pitches “A, C, A, and B,” an homage to the work of the ACAB movement that seeks to abolish racist policing in America. Not only do the members of the quartet speak in sympathy with each other, but the quartet as a whole speaks in sympathy with the broader, increasingly-turbulent political world we find ourselves inhabiting.

Speaking in Sympathy was premiered in April 2024 at New York University by The Rhythm Method.