Prelude and Toccata for string quartet

This work was commissioned by West Cork Music with funds provided by Radio Telefís Éireann and The Arts Council/An Comhairle Ealaíon and written for the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet. It is essentially a display piece.The short Prelude, which is to be played with a considerable amount of rhythmic freedom, foreshadows some of the material in the Toccata.This material is coloured to some extent by the choice of intervals which make up the famous Tristan chord of Wagner, an augmented fourth, a major third and a perfect fourth.Much has been written about the theory of this chord, which occurs in the work of many composers earlier than Wagner, and at intervals throughout the toccata the quartet instruments take time out from their headlong rush to discuss various ways in which the chord may be resolved.