| The theme of this song cycle is mental illness. All three songs are scored for soprano, piano, violoncello, and percussion (three players). The first song, “Job's Sorrow,” describes the agony of the Biblical character Job, All melodies and harmonies are constructed from transpositions and permutations of three four-note cells. The song “Mixed Melodies,” by Bonnie Schell, describes the horrible experiences of a small child. It is written in melodic recitative form with a chordal piano accompaniment in which certain hexachords are focal points. The recitatives are occasionally interrupted by tutti passages depicting a child's pain and suffering. The vibraphone motive in measure 4 appears in all such passages. The final song, “To the Fates,” by Friedrich Hölderlin as translated by David Fisher is unified by melodic and rhythmic motives from the opening vocal line, which recur throughout in both voice and instruments. |
