Two competing forces. One relies on their speed, the other on their steadfastness - both riddled with hubris. They are not as dissimilar as one would believe.
Piece for vibraphone duet: Both have 5 lines of 4 bars each. One player repeats each line of their music 5 times before advancing to the next (Tortoise), the other repeats the whole page 5 times (Hare). Much like the hands of a clock, the piece is a rotation of two speeds through very much similar material. There are points where they align, there are points where they clash. Are they truly at odds? They cover the same distance but have different ways of going about it - is the conflict unnecessary?
NB: The two parts comprise the score - to unfold it would be less efficient and would not highlight the form or structure. Vib2 (Tortoise) plays the 'A' section 5 times as a counter-melody/accompaniment to Vib1 (Hare), who plays the whole page only once, then once again while Vib2 plays the next line 5 times (and so on and so forth...)
To see all the reviews for this entry go here: Entry E - 'Not Always to the Swift' by @Studio_H