Second Self

Second Self could be described as an internal conflict. A live orchestra, a solo string quartet and taped samples of the orchestra are the ‘characters’ and in their interactions and confrontations we see the trajectory of the piece.

A string quartet detaches itself from the orchestra. It emerges as an alter ego, another version of the orchestra itself. These four players challenge and prod the orchestra. As the balance of power shifts, so does the surrounding aural landscape

The musicians are joined by an invisible partner, a soundtrack that enters into a dialogue with them. The soundtrack is profoundly fused to the music as an extension of the sound itself, as though it were an additional instrument.

In the end, the string quartet answers the orchestra with sampled excerpts of musical material and in doing so eventually obliges the orchestra to become a mime artist. The orchestral musicians continue playing, but their sound has been robbed by their alter ego.