TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN BRIGHT (2013)
For Violin, Clarinet, and Piano
Duration ca. 7:00
PROGRAM NOTES
Teach the Torches to Burn Bright takes its title from Act I, Scene v of Skakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet - the moment where the young lovers first spot one another from across a crowded room. Romeo exclaims:
Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear,
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand,
And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
This piece strives to capture some of the whirling excitement and heady energy of young love, without forgetting the tragic fate that eventually awaits the story’s protagonists.
Written for the 2013 Aspen Music Festival and School. Premiered by Alfredo Ovalles, Raul Suaréz, and Stefan Van Sant at Harris Hall, Aspen, CO (July 2013).
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