Nocturne

2024 . for string quartet . 7’30 .

Nocturne started at the very end. The main melody, heard in full only once during the final moments, came years ago in a draft for an earlier string quartet. I was interested in the idea of writing a nocturne, a piece that feels like it’s rooted in dream-language. The melody fragments into harmonic shimmers before it’s ever fully stated, and the music keeps weaving in and out of somewhere we haven’t yet been. I have a love-hate relationship to sleep and the nighttime, and this piece is an exploration of those half-conscious, strange hours that feel outside of real life. Sleep always comes, and it’s the relief of finally hearing a melody in full.