Lamentations [Piano Solo]

Lamentations intones an ephemeral, religious atmosphere that is, at once, serious and sumptuous. Tangles of energy and darting motion that flatters the piano and exploits its pleasures bath in a most attractive spiritual light mixed with darker, thinly-veiled hues. A sublimely beautiful piece: a hushed tone poem whose hints at modality tug at the heartstrings.

Rhapsodically exuberant, it is an evocation — compelling and beguiling poetic music that provides a dynamic interlude that is colorful and contrasted with stark dissonances with cool, aquatic ripples of irrepressible sound. It is a vivid musical portrait of using the Book of Lamentations as a springboard for its soft contemplative mood. Its rich lyricism adds to its sense of timelessness, with a gentle hymn-like slow-moving thread of melody meandering through a deftly textured and skillfully written, dramatic score.

This five-minute work is disarmingly simple, with widely separated melodies that are reminiscent of Stravinsky but subtler and emotionally raw. The title suggests the tenor of the work: it’s about gentleness, mystery, and nostalgia.