This was my first horn quartet in response to the need for an original ensemble work, completed in autumn 2010. Like "Sonata Barocco", the "Dance Antique" series, which evolved from the "Variations on a 16th Century Chanson" world, is based on the concept of Renaissance street performers' dance music, but "Dance Antique II" is more classically organized. With a short development in the middle part, the main part is based on saltarello, and the theme that suddenly starts with hemiola is repeated and developed.

The pavane in the middle dissolves in the sarabande. A motif from Perotinus is quoted for development. In addition, in order to add color to the mode, I translated accidental harmony, which is often seen from the end of Guillaume de Machaut to modern French music, and used harmony derived from flamenco.

The full score is in the order of placement on the stage (1-3-4-2). The space around the left, right, front and back is woven into the piece, so play in this order. The instructions are less strict because I believe that strength is relative and I do not want it to be received as a digital parameter. When the end of a tie is towards null, play so that the sound resolves in resonance (or the same tone of other parts). In addition, ties to the parenthesized note heads should be suspended until the next beat. Grasp the character of each part and each voice for a three-dimensional ensemble both spatially and temporally.

(Masahiko Suwa)