scored for two violins, viola, cello and piano

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duration 20 minutes 

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Upbow, downstream! unfolds as a study of movement and direction, with constant flow at its core. The overall character is light and playful, framed by a slower, more reflective central section.

 

In The Way of the Flow, an initial channel is set out. The music follows a natural, almost self-evident motion, in which energy gradually builds and then recedes. A Mirror Made Lake turns this perspective inward. The surface becomes reflective, the movement slows, and what once flowed now takes on a more contemplative, mirroring quality.

 

With Frolic, Frisky, Flux, the music enters a more playful phase. It frolics and continually shifts its shape. In Milling in Motion, this sense of movement is driven forward by a rhythmic ostinato. Circular patterns take over; what turns, keeps turning, propelled by an internal motor.

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I The Way of the Flow

 

II A Mirror Made Lake  

 

III Frolic, Frisky, Flux

 

IV Milling in Motion

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Upbow, Downstream! is dedicated to Desguin Quartet. The first performance was on October 8, 2022 in C Harelbeke (Belgium). Desguin Quartet and Mathias at the piano recorded the piece in June 2022 at Concertgebouw Brugge.