Seven Signals - for Violin, Clarinet, Cello, and Piano

Signals and signs beyond the spoken language are the theme of the one commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and dedicated to the choreographer Jiri Kylian.
In seven movements, the Australian composer Brett Dean explores the musical and poetic potential of the coded communication channels that are omnipresent, but all too often not perceived as language. The rhythm is the link between physical information channels and the sound scenes derived from them. Moving themes and symbols - including Morse signals from the sinking "Titanic" - are Dean's source of inspiration. The music develops with a variety of means, references to Robert Schumann such as advanced playingtechniques, a physically perceptible strength and harbors a quality close to the dance.