The Exploration of Sounds and Techniques in String Quartet, Love Languages, by Euna Joh

Euna Joh* and Yu-Chun Chien, School of Music, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Field (Broad Category): Music/Music Therapy (Visual & Performing Arts) 

Student’s Major: Music Composition, Piano Performance 

The composition explores a diversity of timbres and techniques on string instruments, such as bowing positions, bowing motions, plucking strings (pizzicato), overpressure, air sound (tonlos), fingering tapping, and so forth. The first movement acts as an introduction, encompassing elements from the following movements. The second movement focuses on the combination of bowing and pizzicato. The form of the third movement is more flexible that lays stress on harmonics, air sound, and fingering tapping. The last movement is a conclusion, developing materials used in the previous movements. The title is inspired by Gary Chapman's book “The Five Love Languages,” which motivated me to think about what kind of love languages one uses to communicate. Growing up in two different countries with two different cultures, I have been always interested in various ways that people express love to others. People have different ways to express and receive love and appreciation; and everyone has different love languages. As you listen to this piece, I would like to invite you to think about your love languages. This is my first string quartet, documenting the process of composition, in which I develop and enrich my compositional language. The work was selected through a competitive process to be performed and recorded by the internationally-renowned JACK Quartet in New York City on December 9, 2019. 

Funding: 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: Other