Herz Cycle

Commissioned by The Stolz Quartet with support from FPK

Herz Cycle, written in 2015/16 for the dance-work SeeleHerz choreographed by Leine Roebana and performed by the Stolz Quartet, was inspired by a long distance walking route through the Hebrides in Scotland, which provided the imagery of the pieces brought together in the cycle. The process of writing music is like embarking upon a journey, placing one foot in front of the other foot until the destination has been reached. Along the way, one chances upon a beautiful landscape, a valley, an escarpment, a cliff face, a rainforest. The music then begins to make sense and tells the story of remembered places. Inspiration is both sensory and cerebral, touching upon how it feels to be in a place, how it smells, how does it sounds, how can it be measured. Many of the composer Kate Moore’s pieces are inspired by a physical journey, be it hiking, climbing a mountain or simply moving through space. Movement by walking to remote places or travel to unknown cities by bus or train, allows time to think and absorb, where, being out of the comfort zone of a house, or familiar surroundings, the senses become heightened. In relation to Herz, she had been hiking the Inner and Outer Hebrides and became fascinated with ancient historical remnants engraved in the rugged landscape including pre-Roman Christian walls, Celtic crosses, foundations and buildings where communities lived and thrived on these remote islands thousands of years ago, long before the Roman Invasion of the British Isles

Tarantella for viola 6:12
Incantation 4:41
Telephone 4:54
Dies Irae 4:10
The Apple Tree 3:58
Dance 3:49
Journeyers 2:37
Sadness 2:53
Lidy’s piece 4:26
The Herb Garden 3:52

Interview