Duet No.1: Chorale Pointing Downwards

Muhly himself writes of the work that it's the first in a series of short string pieces that serve simultaneous purposes as harmonic and technical studies for both composer and performers. Duet No.1 is constructed around a cycle of fourteen chords repeated almost without cessation. This drone-like cycle is subject to a few rhythmic alterations, as well as two interruptions, keeping things dynamic and exciting. The middle of the piece becomes, in Muhly's words, "a sort of fervent perpetual-motion perseverance", in an attempt to combine harmonic beauty with what sounds like a musical exercise.