Look to the Far Horizon

Written for New Zealand’s Jade String Quartet, Look to the Far Horizon sees Peter Adams attempt to capture some of the atmosphere and character of the skies and seascapes surrounding his home city of Dunedin, New Zealand, and the nearby Otago peninsula.

Gentle clusters evoke the typically bleached skies and clouds of the Otago environment, while a simple modal tune introduces the building block from which everything is derived, its short note-long note rhythm sometimes transforming into a clipped “scotch snap”. Close imitative entries echo seabirds taking flight in close formation, while upper-register interruptions in biting, bracing harmony suggest the shrieks of seabirds in southerly winds and a graceful violin tune takes inspiration from the fight of the albatross.