(2020) for string quartet - No.4 in the cycle "Brains" -
Commissioned by Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Dortmund and the European Concert Hall Organization in the framework of ECHO Rising Stars.
First performance: October 12, 2021, ARIS Quartett, Philharmonie Luxembourg
Duration: 6 minutes
Edition: Breitkopf & Härtel
The brain works on a division of labor system (separate departments such as visual cortex, auditory cortex, motor cortex, and frontal lobe). I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but rhythm and melody do not stimulate the same areas of the brain.
Inspired by this, I assigned different functions to the four instruments (rhythm to the cello, tone to the second violin, melody to the viola, and chords to the first violin: this is the order of sound elements that babies can recognize) . Within this community, they can observe each other, and through a process specific to the brain function called “empathy,” they can imagine, predict, and even participate in the realization of each other's actions.
It also reminds me of the interpretation of the genesis of the world as found in ancient Japanese books, where the first divinity creates a second entity thought of as an “alter-ego”. It is from the harmony of these two beings that the many spirits linked to Japanese cosmogony are subsequently born.
A hidden pitch in the percussive ostinato (“alter ego”) of the cello gradually reveals itself through the drawn-out vibrating sound of the second violin. These vibrations, emphasized in the discourse, become a “melody” taken up by the viola, or a chord played by the first violin.
Misato Mochizuki
https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/de/mediathek/rising-stars-aris-quartett/496