Clouds

For String Quartet

This piece is a reflection on the beautiful cloudy days in Claremont, CA. More specifically, it is a recollection of a walk I once took through the city, where I looked up and saw the sunlight suddenly burst through a breaking in the clouds. The light was tender enough to enable looking directly at it, but vibrant enough to inspire and implant the beginning of this piece into my head. The multiple points through which the sunlight shone, melding together into one giant chasm which only breaths light onto the city for a few moments before dissipating again, are represented in the meditative first measures of this piece. The metamorphosis of the chords through step related progressions, the slowly changing textures, and the extended techniques represent the rumbling of clouds, constantly changing shapes with light sneaking through various points, yet retaining the beautiful grey throughout.