Recitative and Aria

Recitative and Aria for Orchestra (2017) are two movements inspired by the life of Edwin Booth (1833-1893), the American actor who was also the older brother of the infamous John Wilkes Booth. Edwin carried that stigma with him for the rest of his life and this piece depicts his struggles via varying moods, meter, tempi, instrumentation, and themes – like a soliloquy where one might rant, repeat, and contradict oneself in a stream of consciousness.