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Rasa (Piano Quartet no 2)

Rasa is a single movement work, in a kind of rondo form. It opens with a shimmering background against which a modal melody is played in unison by violin and piano, and refers to aspects of this material at four subsequent points during the piece. The intervening episodes contrast with one another in their texture, metre and speed (though the prevailing tempos tend to be slow or at least stately). Each instrument has at least some opportunity to shine as a soloist, but the music also explores varying combinations, both to produce periods of intricate counterpoint in two or three part, but also for the richness of unison writing, as in the very slow section at the heart of the piece. The piece also seeks to explore some unusual sonorities, such as the effect of chimes created by natural harmonics on the string instruments, and the use of flautato and sul ponticello bowing styles.

The title has two possible meanings: in Sanskrit rasa is used as a metaphor for the ‘great emotion’ sought by yogis; in Latin it means scraped smooth, as in tabula rasa: a surface made ready for a new inscription.

Rasa was composed with the financial assistance of the Australia Council through a Music Fund Fellowship, and is dedicated to the members of the Australian Piano Quartet.