I t was in the late 1970s, after decades of writing music for film & TV documentaries, and songs for singing wih guitar, that I decided it was time to writing more concert music beyond the half dozen I’d penned. The result was 2 chamber works that were recorded by top musicians who kindly accepted payment by me to do the job resulting in 2 recordings that were released on a CD titled “Today-Yesterday”.

My String Quartet No. 1 (“The Key”) was written in a “Today” harmonic style meaning that both chords and melodic passages used in the work, though derived from the basic major or minor scales of classical music, also use additional notes that we all hear in “Today’s”concert music, in jazz and in pop music! The music also represents a woman of “Today”, as shown on the cover picture of both the CD and LP that these works were released on.

Thanks to the lady who kindly agreed to pose for the photo seen on that cover.

Please enjoy studio performance by John Gould, Irene Donohoe, Jane Hazelwood, David Pereira playing Strahan’s String Quartet No. 1 (The Key). 

1st Movt . “Fever” – settings of increasing rhythmic heat driven by and embroiled in statements of the The Key, a 5-note motif, an Id é e Fixe .

2nd Movt. “Rhapsody” – successively varied statements of a rhapsodic theme are entangled with re-statements of the The Key.

3rd Movt. “Love-Hope” – statements of 2 contrasting themes, each an extended melody, are disturbed by re-statements of the The Key.

4th Movt . “Dance” – continuing fragments from the 3rd Movt. morph into a dance rhythm. A new melody builds momentum until stalled by intrusions of The Key.