Incidental Music from \u3cem\u3eDoubt\u3c/em\u3e

Living in the midst of uncertainty is something quite familiar to all of us, yet also so foreign. When I sat down to write this score, my main question was how do I capture this universal feeling with my music? How can I draw my audience in while simultaneously taking them on an unpredictable and slightly uncomfortable journey? My goal was to have listeners be present, not relying on the past or living in the anticipation of something to come, but caught up in the moment. My musings resulted in a recurring two bar theme strategically placed throughout a relatively abstract score. This “melody” is meant to provide a roadmap of sorts, something which people will recognize and grab onto amidst the confusion. The abstractness is not meant to turn off, but rather to enhance this sense of living in the moment, also an implicit theme in the play itself. I have additionally interspersed familiar sacred melodies throughout to aid the ecclesiastical nature of the show. It is my sincere hope that this score allows the audience to experience doubt in a new light and to come away with a different understanding and appreciation for this unsettling emotion

Salem, 1692

This piece follows the progression of the Salem Witch Trials, which took place in colonial Massachusetts in 1692. Over the course of a little more than a year, the Puritan community executed nineteen suspected witches. I aimed to capture the hysteria and religious hypocrisy responsible for driving a community to such an atrocity. With text largely based on quotes recorded during the actual witch trials, Salem, 1692 is comprised of six movements. Movements one through three document the initial Old Testament mandate, the twisted superstitions that developed from said mandate, and the panicked responses of the accused. Recreating the ominous and prolonged walk to the gallows, movement four features the Lord’s Prayer, a common test for witches at the time. The fifth movement symbolizes the execution. Traditionally used as a responsive text, the doxology provides the framework for the sixth and final movement. The distortion of the beautiful melody creates a somber response to the tragic events that transpired. I Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live II Every old woman with a wrinkled face, a furr\u27d brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squint eye, a squeaking voice, or a scolding tongue ... a dog or cat by her side, is not only suspected but pronounced for a witch. – John Gaule III I am no more a witch than you are a wizard. If you take my life away, God will give you blood to drink. – Sarah Good IV Our father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. VI Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below; praise Him above ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen

Musica in Tempore Belli: An Analysis of “Black Angels”

Described as “…extraordinarily haunting” and “[the] intoxicating magic of…sound,”(Steinitz, 1978) the music of George Crumb is some of the most evocative and expressive music of the 20th century. His extensive use of extended techniques (many of which he pioneered) is in part what makes his music so memorable. Also known for its liberal use of theatricality, Crumb’s music has become a standard of the 20th century, as well as in the contemporary music canon overall. “Black Angels” for Electric String Quartet, subtitled “Thirteen Images from the Dark Land” was written as a response to the Vietnam War and is one of Crumb’s best known and respected pieces. This paper will examine the compositional approach taken in “Black Angels,” as well as analyze the musical and harmonic structure governing the piece

what if...

My enigmatic title presages the sinuous gestures found in the music. I invite you to consider the various forms of ambiguity implicit in the score as you experience this work with little foreknowledge of its terrain