I was astounded when I first played this CD. The sounds were so unusual, so much like a full orchestra that I checked the cover to be sure I had the recording I had ordered. Careful listening revealed only four instruments, but what a variety of timbres! Who could guess that stringed instruments were capable of such music? The performers are superb. They master challenges of pitch, rhythm and harmonics that would make lesser performers quail.Coates's music is her own, unlike that of any other composer. It expands one's listening skills as melodies repeat themselves in different voices at different speeds. Listen for the lines. This is contemporary music that is comprehensible because of the standard, even old-fashioned, forms it follows. But the real joy comes in hearing the exploitation of the capabilities of instrument and performer. Now I listen every night to one of the quartets before I fall asleep.
