Tread Softly, for 2 violins, viola and cello, Score and parts

The inspiration for Tread Softly came from two contrasting sources: the religious music of early medieval Spain, and Debbie Locke?s work of art ?Retracing Your Steps - Bristol I?. Although over a thousand years apart, these two sources share a common feature - a powerful sense of movement enclosed within a static form. In early Spanish music this manifests in the use of extended melisma, and in Locke?s work it is depicted through the seemingly moving, web-like form of the central image. Tread Softly explores the idea of movement within stasis through the use of a main melodic gesture that transforms very slowly, but constantly, throughout.