Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2 - 2.2 - timp - strings

"Fugue: “Wear Pearls and Smile”" is, on the outset, a fast, rambunctious adventure for many voices playing at the same time. It was conceived as a pairing for the equally vivacious second symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven--his 250th birthday is this year--but can stand on its own as one of my hardest, most challenging works to cook up.

This piece is dedicated to those forced to appear positive when internally they’re falling apart. The title is inspired by a quote that’ s been with me for a while, “Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile?” by Lynn Hecht Schafren, the celebrated American jurist famous for campaigning for gender equity in courts. I’m taking the quote out of its initial context, but the power of that quote, for me, exemplifies how hard it is to maintain a sense of emotional decorum and dignity when you’re authentically a hot mess. And what can be more of a musical hot mess than a contemporary fugue?

There are two realities to this piece. I’ll quote Dmitri Shostakovich, from his autobiography: “The rejoicing is forced, created under threat, [...] It’ s as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, ‘Y our business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing, ’ and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering ‘Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing. ’" On the one hand, it is insincere happiness, cloying perhaps. But, for the other truth, I’ll quote Oscar Hammerstein II, from The King and I: “While shivering in my shoes / I strike a careless pose / And whistle a happy tune / And no one ever knows, / I'm afraid. ” I forced myself , against all impulses of my current being, to forge happiness. This piece, with its origin being a mental puzzle (fugues are puzzles), it became a construct where I could lift myself up and regain a sense of purpose. Therefore, it is an expression of invented--out of a literal need to survive--pure, genuine happiness.