So It Goes

Program Notes

Although not explicitly narrative driven, So It Goes intends to paint the non-linear journey towards acceptance. The work opens with a rather gentle and insecure wash, followed by a drifting and searching melody. As the work progresses the main melodic fragment becomes entangled in itself and an air of frustration builds to a climactic point at which the ensemble cries out altogether as if to release all of this building tension, allowing for a first moment of cathartic release. As in the real world, problems do not resolve instantaneously - the motif continues to swirl through the ensemble quickly coming to another climax point which is much more swiftly released as the music seeks a begrudging acceptance. Although the work does not truly resolve, the listener is meant to feel a sense of "coming to peace".

 

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