the anatomy of melancholy

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THE ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY (2008) Purchase Online

Premiere: February 8, 2008 by Antares at the Ravinia Festival
Duration: 16'

Instrumentation: Bb Clarinet, Violin, 'Cello, Piano

Commissioned by Antares

Program Note:
The Anatomy of Melancholy, like Robert Burton's 1621 book of that name, dissects and explores some of the darker areas of human experience as a means of expressing and understanding them, while at the same time striving to rise above them. As Burton noted, 'I write of melancholy, by being busy to avoid melancholy.'

The principal musical idea of the work is a simple, spare descending scale, heard at the outset in the piano. Contrasting ideas — brighter and more energetic — begin to intrude and, eventually, to dominate. Formally the work proceeds as a loosely structured set of variations. The opening, spare and desolate, sets the stage for an emotional trajectory of regeneration and growth and features each of the quartet's members in soloistic episodes along the way.