Program Notes
When I was searching for the right title for this work the sentiment expressed by Dylan Thomas in his famous line “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” struck an emotional chord with me. If the Primo Amore and Cinque Fasi can be viewed as allegories of birth and life, then Luce Morente (Dying Light) is about facing death.
You’ve been knocked down many times but this time is difference. Quieter somehow. This time you know that something broke inside of you that can’t be fixed… hope. The strangest thing is unlike before you are not distraught. Instead, you begin to accept that your entire life was a delusional attempt to deny the inevitable. Giving up no longer feels like a failure but like relief. Finally, there will be an end to the pain.
Then you hear it, like a siren’s call, death has been beckoning you from the shadows this entire time. Your blood begins to boil. This is not a fight you can win, but you will fight it nevertheless. There may be no more hope left to fuel you, but there is no shortage of rage…
Performance Tips
As with the other pieces in this collection the program notes say it all
Moments (Music Gestures)
The last hope dies. (m. 1)
As the siren song of death invites you to surrender you reflect on the events of your life. Subconsciously you restlessly stir, refusing to completely give in. (m. 6)
After all the sorrow life has caused you, now it has the audacity to gently beckon you into surrendering. No... Not without incident... (m. 22)
The last of your rage spent, you use every fiber of your soul to resist the irresistible force of the siren songs until the last possible second. (m. 48)
With the end now imminent, you reflect on the highs and lows of your troubled life, resisting until the last light goes dark and ends your story for good. (m. 65)