In Solitude (2020)
7 minutes
solo cello
Premiere: Online premiere April 2020 - Paul Dwyer, cello
Commissioned by Paul Dwyer
PROGRAM NOTE
I wrote my solo cello work In Solitude in March and April of 2020, as the COVID-19 crisis was seizing our world. Suddenly, we were asked to maintain social distance, and to shelter in place in our homes. The ambient feelings of that time, uncertainty and anxiety, are reflected in the emotional states the piece moves through: from the searching, plaintive opening through the mind-racing quality of the perpetual motion (which constitutes the middle section of the piece) to the sense of time slowing down towards the end. The piece was composed for Paul Dwyer’s project “COVID-19: Contagious Solitude,” and is dedicated to Paul with gratitude for his artistry and friendship.