Programme Note This short one-movement quartet is a kind of modernization of the 14th century French motets a cadeau to this weird and fantastic music whose abstract and almost deprecatory introvert expression appears unaccountably modern and incredibly ancient at the same time. MOTET is a sober cool treatise on rhythm and statics depicted in a Gothic crypt-like atmosphere. The almost completely non-vibrato movement is suggestive of boys’ choir monks’ processions and the piercing sound of musical glasses. An ancient world is reborn and becomes the world of today. Poul Ruders 1979

String Quartet Score and Parts-Ola Gjeilo's three-work set of Ubi Caritas settings is now complete with “Sacred Heart.” Musically independent from his other two Ubi Caritas settings “Sacred Heart” can stand alone or be performed with the two previous works. A lovely string quartet accompaniment balances with the choir making this a stunning and peaceful adaptation of such a thoughtful text. Duration: ca. 4:45

If Ye Love Me by John Tavener was commissioned by Manchester International Festival (MIF Creative) with thanks to the support of the MIF Commissioning Circle. In If Ye LoveMe there are subtle echo-effects between three String Quartets which are complimented by an upper Voice choir.

John Luther Adams' Canticles Of The Sky for String Quartet. Composer's Note: In the Arctic sky the low angle of the sun and heavy ice crystals in the air often produce vivid halos arcs andsundogs (parhelia). Sometimes these phenomena create the illusion of multiple suns. 'Sky With Four Suns' is a musical evocation of such an apparition from sunrise to sunset. Similar visions also occur at night which isthe image behind 'Sky With Four Moons.' 'Sky With Nameless Colors' and 'Sky With Endless Stars' evoke the extraordinary depth and clarity of Sonoran Desert skies. This music is drawn from Canticles of the Holy Wind– a concert-length work for four choirs and vocal soloists. In this version sixteen separate choral parts have been condensed into the string quartet. String designations should be carefully observed. Frequent stringcrossings are employed to create as lush and continuous textures as possible. All sounds should be legato. Bowing is free and full throughout. Total performance duration is about 18:00

To what God shall we chant our songs of battle? was commissioned by James O’Donnell and Westminster Abbey for a service of solemn commemoration on 4 August 2014 marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.Stark and gritty yet always rooted in tonality Matthews’s expressive harmonies bring a potent immediacy to the bitter disillusioned words of war poet Harold Monro and the two lyrical solos for soprano and tenor which set passages from the Book of Lamentations and St Luke’s Gospel. Beginning with a violent and impassioned energy this anthem ultimately offers little consolation. In the words of James O’Donnell it ‘leaves you standing on theedge of an abyss’ its impetus petering out in a series of hushed troubled questions.