Program note
Written during the winter of 2010, for the EMPYREAN ENSEMBLE, LA FEMME ADULTÈRE is inspired by Albert Camus's eponymous short story from The Exile and the Kingdom. It evokes a certain sense of suspended time.
The two paragraphs that specifically inspired me are found on the very last page, and describe the sudden and unexpected emotional, spiritual, and physical communion of a woman with the Sahara desert on a cold winter night.
Beginning in barrenness and solitude, the piece passes through passion and ecstasy, culminating in a state of complete renouncement and self-surrender.
Recording — The Empyrean Ensemble
Details
Instrumentation
String quartet & percussion
Duration
12'
Date
2010
Commissioned by
The Empyrean Ensemble, Davis University, CA
Sheet music
Available upon request
First performance
The Empyrean Ensemble — Mondavi Center, Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, April 18 2010