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SUL A–FLAT
Duration: 9 minutes
Sul Ab is
a free fantasia, a kind of misplaced cadenza separated from an imaginary original context. As the title
may suggest, the piece calls for scordatura, a process in which one or more of the violin strings are
detuned prior to beginning the piece. In this case, the lowest string must be raised from G to Ab. Many
unique possibilities that are opened up by this new tuning are explored throughout the piece, including
the wider array of natural harmonics that the alteration provides. Other prominent features of Sul Ab
include the opening Ab–G–E motive which reappears numerous times, many double–stop
octaves which often serve as emphatic points of reference or points of resolution, and a fleeting coda of
arpeggiating natural harmonics.
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