'Perseverance' for string quartet (2001/09)

The son of thief inherits "thieving"
The son of poor man inherits "poverty"
The son of lazy man inherits "laziness"
The son of rich man inherits "wealth"
The son of philosopher inherits "philosophy"
The son of hunter inherits "guns etc."
so the "poverty", "misery", "wretchedness", and "sorrow" shall never finish in the generation that there is no "Perseverance".

                                                                                                                         Arnos Tutuola: 'The Brave African Huntress'

Commissioned by the Edinburgh Quartet, with subsidy from the Scottish Arts Council, and is dedicated to Geoffrey King, Hazel Sheppard and Susan Hamilton who conspired in its beginnings.  P.N.