The Weaver's Knot
Score title
The Weaver's Knot
Composer
Liza Lim
More about the composer
Date
Instrumentation
Program note
The Weaver’s Knot (2013), a string quartet based on aspects of hardanger fiddle playing and written for the Arditti String Quartet on the occasion of their 40th anniversary for performances in 2014.
The ‘weaver’s knot’ (also known as a ‘sheet bend’ in knot parlance) is a traditional technique used for hundreds of years in textile production that is an incredibly strong and effective method of tying threads together. It’s a knot that uses tension to hold it in place yet is also reversible so it can be undone. The musical work offers an image of the string quartet as an ensemble of dynamic sonic threads in an unfolding process of binding and unbinding. Individual lines follow different pathways coming together to create emergent patterns or knots in which tension is accumulated and held or released.
The ‘weaver’s knot’ (also known as a ‘sheet bend’ in knot parlance) is a traditional technique used for hundreds of years in textile production that is an incredibly strong and effective method of tying threads together. It’s a knot that uses tension to hold it in place yet is also reversible so it can be undone. The musical work offers an image of the string quartet as an ensemble of dynamic sonic threads in an unfolding process of binding and unbinding. Individual lines follow different pathways coming together to create emergent patterns or knots in which tension is accumulated and held or released.