Jacques Duran on the Beach

Caroline Shaw, featured composer of 2011 Season

What you are listening to:

The piece was inspired by the popular beach of Manchester-by-the-Sea, "Singing Beach", which acquired its name from the "squeaks" that come out when rubbing one's foot against the sand. These "squeaks" are prevalent throughout the piece, and are translated to the string instruments by playing a single note until it grows to a sudden halt, with a little squeak of the bow, as the friction of the horsehair on the string grows to a breaking point. The video excerpt is taken from the climax of the piece, where these gentle wave-like gestures, interspersed with "squeaks," multiply and collectively arrive at a new breaking point, the real heart of the piece. Here the strings begin in pizzicato, playing an old hymn tying back to the history of the earliest settlers of coastal Massachusetts.

Read Caroline Shaw's own words about the piece.