Caltabiano: Medea, for Soprano and 12 Players

Medea

Duration:

17 min.

Year:

1980

Soprano and 12 Players
Solo Sop.; 1 1 1(B.Cl) 1 - 1 - 1 1 0 1; Str. (1 0 1 1 1)

Catalog No.:

rental only

Excerpted from the Euripidean tragedy, this dramatic cantata focuses on the few minutes before Medea kills her children as an act of revenge against her estranged husband. Medea reveals her wildly conflicting thoughts and emotions: the woman scorned versus the loving mother. Although the opposing emotions are never resolved, Medea finally does realize the full horror of her intended action with the words "Now I know what evil I intend to do." This quiet, almost motionless section comprises the climax of the work. An instrumental coda is severed a split-second before Medea’s revenge is complete.

Medea was premiered in December 1980 at the Juilliard Festival of Contemporary Music.

Medea... demonstrates a number of features that have continued to characterize [Caltabiano's] work. Prime among these is an almost uncanny ability to write confidently and idiomatically for his instrumental forces.... Similarly apparent is the tightly knit motive structure of these works, with recurring, recognizable phrases lending a comforting clarity and organic substance to the overall form.
-- Music and Musicians [London]