Noah Kahrs Two Counteroints or iano quartet
Tuning nstructions 1. The ollowing strings should be tuned ordinarily: Violin: D,G Viola: A,D,G Cello: A,D,G 2. Tune the viola C string to sound exactly three octaves below a seventh artial harmonic (sounding high C) on the cello D string. The viola C string will be arox. 0 cents lat.. Tune the violin E string to sound in unison with a ith artial harmonic (sounding E) on the just-retuned viola C string. The violin E string will be arox. 45 cents lat. 4. Tune the violin A string down a normal ith rom the just-returned violin E string. The violin A string will be arox. 45 cents lat. 5. Lower the cello C string so that the 7th artial harmonic (sounding B-lat) is in tune with the ordinarily-turned viola A string (or with the iano A). The cello C string will be arox. 70 cents lat.
Other Perormance Notes Dashed slurs reresent hrase marks that are not necessarily layed legato. Piano harmonics are notated as ollows: the bottom note, with an x-notehead, indicates which key on the iano is layed, and the to note, with a diamond notehead, shows the sounding itch. Natural harmonics beyond the second artial are notated with diamond noteheads at the aroriate node on the ingerboard; the string is indicated by a roman numeral. Sounding itches are sometimes included or clarity in arentheses. Second artial ( touch octave ) harmonics are notated conventionally. All notes on retuned strings are either oen strings or natural harmonics, with the excetion o mm. 0-1 o mvt. 2 in the viola. All notes on retuned strings are notated as layed, not as sounding, again with the excetion o mm. 0-1 o mvt. 2 in the viola. Some harmonics require two nodes to be touched on the same string to obtain a articularly high artial, such as m. 91 o mvt. 1 and mm. 46, 66 o mvt. 2 in the cello art. Note that in the cello art, mm. 72-75 o mvt. 2 alternate between these high harmonics and actual double-sto harmonics on two searate strings; a harmonic with two nodes on one string is indicated with one stem and one string indicated; two harmonics on searate strings have two stems and two strings indicated. Oen strings and harmonics sometimes have ties leading into rests, which mean to let the string ring reely. Over the course o the second movement, a melodic line is stated and consistently reeated in augmentation, but woven between instruments. This rimary line is indicated by thick brackets above a assage. This line (as indicated by brackets) should be brought out, as indicated by a Hautstimme in twelve-tone music.
Program Notes This work began as an isolated melody, which is never stated in its entirety but which serves as the source o all material in the irst movement. Each o the ive distinct sections o the irst movement deals with a dierent ragment o the melody. The movement is urther motivated by its tuning, which is in turn also derived rom this melody; the tuning sets u just intonation against the equal-teered iano, allowing the thirds and sevenths o the melody to be heard in several colliding intonations. The second movement urther develos this tuning system through reetition o a new melody shaed to the tuning system s nuances. With each statement o the melodic line, the rhythm is elongated in a dierent roortion and the itch content becomes richer: it is stated irst as a rhythm without notes attached, and eventually with the ull microtonal otential o all retuned strings, each reetition slowly adding to the realm o itches. Whereas the irst movement uses all available notes or one very elongated statement o the melody, the second movement starts with ew notes and adds more notes with each reetition. Once these asects o the orm were set u, the coositional rocess was more luid; each section was coosed reely by ear within the constraints described above, and the boundaries between sections are occasionally somewhat blurred. The irst movement, nventions, was remiered on July 2 nd, 2015 at Big Barn in Putney, VT by Jin Young Yoon, Cara Pogossian, Noah Koh, and Nadia Azzi, coached by Ari saacman- Beck. A revised version was remiered on February 7 th, 2016 at Fulton Recital Hall in Chicago, L by Clara Lyon, Doyle Armbrust, Russel Rolen, and Ann Yi. The second movement, sorhythms, was remiered on June 22 nd, 2016 at the Dublin School Auditorium in Dublin, NH by Hanna Hurwitz, Victor Lowrie, Mariel Roberts, and Steven Beck. The ull iece was remiered on November 21 st, 2017 at Hatch Recital Hall in Rochester, NY by Shannon Leigh Reilly Steigerward, Sam Edwards, Rachel Rice, and Sean William Calhoun, conducted by Edo Frenkel.
Two Counteroints. nventions Noah Kahrs Violin Viola Patient but not static, q = 96 sub Cello Piano Patient but not static, q = 96 5
2 9 A A sere 12
14 B B n, dolce 11th artial harmonics - touch nodes inside iano n, dolce (insoar as ossible), dolce leave harmonic ringing with sostenuto edal 19
4 25 C C 1
7 5 41 D sub, D oco meno
6 45 n, 49, n move to sul ont... move to ord. osition sub meno
52 E () () E 56, dolce, dolce sost. (ord.) n n sost. < q. = q > R. Schumann - Piano Quartet, O. 47 Rising rom resonance (q = 64), n n n 7 < q. = q > Rising rom resonance (q = 64) sost., but enough to last
8 61 < q = q. > (q = 96 sere), sul tasto, sul tasto ord. F < q = q. > F (q = 96 sere) 67 n
7 G 9 G 78 H H
10 82 sim. 85 n n
88, n 11 (sounding) sub touch both nodal oints lightly 92 sub
12 95 98 (slowly slide away rom the daer on the string towards rd artial)
Violin Viola Violoncello q = 64. sorhythms sul ont. sul tasto 1 q = 64 Piano don't edal until indicated at B 4 ord. sub sub ord. n sub A A 0
14 8 sub n sub 12 B n sub B
17 C 15 n C 21
16 26 D sere D 0 (standard intonation) n n n
4, 17 8 E, n E
18 41 44 F sub F n
19 47 sub n 51 G G
20 54 sub 0 n 58 H n n H
61 21 64
22 68 n 71 R. Schumann - Piano Quartet, O. 47 n, n, (0),
2 78 80 n