intimacy iv (after the fact) for Mixed Chamber Ensemble (2018) by James Hazel

intimacy iv (after the fact) is part of a larger cycle of works investigating the idea of ritual within various forms of intimacy. intimacy iv explores the residue of intimacy, which is deeply psychological, subjective and fragmented. This is the loss of real intimacy that occurs after a relationship breakdown, or after someone close has passed away. intimacy iv contains three sections whose materials constitute a type of musical ritual moving through states of loss.

1. Emotional shock, slowly-forming, crystallising – incorporating breathing, sustained notes, and acoustic interference between parts
2. Uneasiness, fragmentation, intensity – sustained notes are ‘animated’, before becoming rhythmically unified
3. Isolation, reflection, potential resolution – after the climax, a sense of a tonal centre emerges through sluggish, overlapping phrases