DESCRIPTION:
for string quartet; performed here by the Bozzini Quartet.

"Arbor Vitae (2006) for string quartet is James Tenney's last work. The title presents the image of a tree as the central metaphor for the work's harmonic structure, which is similar to the way tree branches emanate from other branches. The harmonic form of Arbor Vitae is a series of related tonalities modulating through a richly populated, extended just intonation pitch space. The piece explores the progression of single tonalities expanding into multiple tonalities." Michael Winter