Reiko Füting: Chorale (“those driven out will come”) / Quartet121

Subtitle: Komposition für Streichquartett/Composition for String Quartet (2021) Performers: Quartet 121 (www.quartet121.com) Composition: Reiko Füting (www.reikofueting.com) Audio: Ryan Streber (Oktaven Audio www.oktavenaudio.com) Video: Charles Mueller (Oktaven Audio www.oktavenaudio.com) Program Note: Chorale (“those driven out will come”), for string quartet (2021), was written for Quartet121. The title refers to the composition’s musical reference (the third movement of the String Quartet op. 132 by Ludwig van Beethoven, “Heiliger Dankgesang”) as well as its literal references (two quotes from the New and Old Testament): “…standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree…” (Revelations) “…and there shall be no nation to which those driven out will not come…” (Jeremiah) These two quotes connect the number “four” with the reality of migration. Migration as such was discussed by the philosopher Vilém Flusser in his collection of essays “The Freedom of the Migrant: Objections to Nationalism”. As a reference to John Cage, this is a “string quartet in four parts”. The formal approach was inspired by a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, “The Garden of Forking Paths”: I. Gardens of Forking Paths II. Gardens of a Forking Path III. A Garden of Forking Paths IV. A Garden of a Forking Path