Sepulchers of the Fathers for Piano Quartet

Sepulchers of the Fathers is a three-movement work for piano quartet approximately 15 minutes in length. All three movements possess strong motivic coherence and are required to be performed together to maintain comprehensibility. All instrumental parts are intended to be of equal importance. The first and second movement both reflect a core ABA structure but there are significant differences in the philosophy of their construction. The first movement contains features traditionally associated with sonata form. Two main ideas are presented (beginning in measures one and nine respectively) within an extended exposition, a relatively virtuosic development follows, and a triumphant but brief recapitulation completes the movement. In the second movement, motivic and thematic material develops in brief variation-like sections of contrasting character that are juxtaposed against each other. The monolithic third movement is dark in character and contains a somber lyricism that slowly grows to a tragic climax. The piece ends in tranquil repetition of the most important motivic material.