Program Note:

Chiaroscuro is the use of bold contrasts between light and dark in a work of art, often to convey drama and visual depth.  While originally coined to refer to the technique as used in Italian Renaissance paintings, the term now more generally refers to high light/dark contrasts in any visual media, as in contemporary photography and film.

In its own way, this piece features chiaroscuro as a core structural and dramatic driver. Instead of a linear light to dark or dark to light narrative, the piece continuously moves through contrasts of light, as textures of bright open harmonics are juxtaposed with darker, aggressive material. Yet in spite of this visual analogy, and the motivation it provided throughout the compositional process, Chiaroscuro exists - as with all I write - just as well as a piece of absolute music, whose inner logic needs no external justification.

Chiaroscuro was written for the Beo String Quartet, and was featured in their 2019 ‘Refractions’ tour.