Suite for Solo Cello (2009)

Description

Audio

Duration

15 min.

Instrumentation

cello

Movements

Prelude-Prose
Nocturne-Koan
Scherzo-Expletive
Ballad-Mythos

Program Notes

“Myths are public dreams; dreams are private myths.”
—Joseph Campbell

Suite for Solo Cello consists of four movements, each representing both a musical character piece and an approach to verbal or literary expression in its stylistic treatment.

I. Prelude-Prose: Ideas relate to each other in familiar syntax; narrative is formed.
II. Nocturne-Koan: By moving constantly, one moves not at all.
III. Scherzo-Expletive: Smile is a four-letter word.
IV. Ballad-Mythos: As we remember what was, shall we weep or sing?

The work was composed for – and in collaboration with – cellist Toby Kuhn during my travels France and Italy in the summer of 2009. Each movement seeks to capture some aspect of my personal experiences in each location I visited, in particular the cultural and historical weight of Paris, Jailly-les-Moulins, Monfort-l’Amaury, Ostia, and Rome.