This piece is dedicated to The Nieuw Ensemble and Brian Ferneyhough.

composed 2000, La Jolla
Commissioned by the Nieuw Ensemble, Amsterdam.

Jury Selection for ISCM WORLD MUSIC DAYS 2004 - Switzerland. Performed by Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain, La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Pierre Monot conducting.

First performances -January 2000 Ed Spaanjard conducting, Den Haag, Amsterdam and Groningen.

Scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, piano, mandolin, guitar, harp, percussion, violin, viola, cello, double bass.

9:30 duration.

Program Notes:

The twelve person ensemble is divided into three groups of four musicians each; the three winds and piano, mandolin/guitar/harp and percussion, and four strings. Furthermore, each group is confined to a musical material radically different from the other sub-groups. I have layered all three materials so they constantly float through one another; even though, as the title evokes, each musical material is rigid in its evolution, or path, similar to the hairline cracks of marble.