Details
Instrumentation
Mezzo-Soprano and Piano
Duration
6:50 minutes
Awards
3rd prize at the 8° Concorso Internazionale San Colombano in Italy.
Listen
Score
Program Notes
Dedicated “For all who are suffering under the shadow of war in our time,” SUB IRIDE (“under the rainbow” in Latin) draws upon verses from the Book of Revelation. The apocalyptic imagery of Revelation, at once terrifying and luminous, is once again a mirror of our present age, where human suffering and the hope of renewal coexist in stark tension.
The opening evokes awe and mystery: a vision of a throne encircled by a rainbow, the stars falling from the sky. From there, the music is drawn into a darker realm where peace is taken from the earth, the sixth seal is opened, and the very sky vanishes like a scroll. The sound world grows fractured, violent, and unstable, driven by stark rhythms and eruptive sonorities.
Out of this devastation, the arc bends toward consolation: the vision of a new heaven and a new earth, and of the river of life flowing bright as crystal. The closing music unfolds in radiance, offering a glimpse of peace beyond destruction.