colour palette #1: images of gros morne (2018)

for string quartet

Duration: 14’

Premiered: April 22, 2018 @ Church of the Holy Trinity Toronto ON  

Nelson Moneo (violin) Matthias McIntire (violin) Clara Nguyen-Tran (viola) Dobrochna Zubek (cello)

Programme Note:

Colour Palette #1: images of Gros Morne explores the relationship between painting and palette, showing the progression of micro to macro in the setting of visual arts. The piece is based on a painting by contemporary Canadian artist, E. Robert Ross, celebrated for his expansive and realistic paintings of the Canadian landscape. This painting in particular is of the Gros Morne National Park, in Newfoundland. The composition juxtaposes the final painting with the concept of the palette used by the artist. It focusses on the idea that every colour, gesture, and brushstroke of the landscape can be found in the original paint palette, slowly introduced until the complete portrait is presented.

The structure of the piece is divided into three main sections. In each section, a member of the quartet takes on the role of a main element of the landscape (mountain, river, and sky). In addition to the physical elements of the landscape, the sections are also paired with allusions to the human history of the land. The first section features the cello, representing the ancient and worn cliffsides of Gros Morne, paired with faint echoes of rhythmic chanting from the Dorset and Paleo- Eskimo people who first inhabited the land. Next, the viola takes on the immense and shimmering river, coupled with the sounds of Norwegian folksongs and the Hardanger fiddle. In the final section, the violins paint the vast and open horizon, with slow shifting blankets of clouds, paired with whispers of Scottish folk music. The piece concludes with the accumulation of all the parts of the landscape, layered over each other, presenting the completed portrait of Gros Morne.

Colour Palette #1: images of Gros Morne received the 2nd Prize (Chamber Ensemble Category) SOCAN Foundation Young Composers Award in 2020.