Sound Fields

In thinking about musical contrasts between thick textures and thin ones, I had the idea of composing a piece which depended only on such contrasts, always remaining at the same dynamic and tone color using strings non- vibrato. Helen Frankenthaler’s fascinating Color Field pictures encouraged me to try this experiment.

Elliott Carter

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“…a slow, quiet study in texture, pitting leanness against richness, contrasting the two and mixing them in a continuously shifting pattern of colour.
Daily Telegraph (UK)

“Mr. Carter can still be surprising. A new work, 'Sound Fields' (2007), composed for the festival, does away with almost everything you expect in a Carter work. Counterpoint, sharply contrasting dynamics, tempos and coloration: all gone. This work is about shifting densities, from single notes to thick textures, and is scored for a homogenous string ensemble that plays entirely at a calm mezzo forte. Think of it as Mr. Carter’s Adagio for Strings, with a nod to Morton Feldman.
The New York Times