In Response to the Madness PERUSAL SCORE
PERUSAL SCORE
In Response to the Madness
for string quartet
PERUSAL SCORE
Joel Thompson 2019
Program Note
I only made one rule for myself: each time before sitting down to compose this piece, I had to ingest all the major news stories of the day. The result of this experiment in compositional process is a stream-of-consciousness response to the political mayhem, the massacres, the climate, and our seemingly futile attempts at trying to make things better. It is essentially a scream into the void — or perhaps into the mirror. What does this music do for all the chaos in the world? This craft to which I have dedicated my life cannot directly cool the planet, save lives, or reinstate civility and understanding into our government and society. Thee piece is merely a response to the madness — one to which I hope listeners can relate — but I also hope it gives voice to our current angst and perhaps inspires us to change our tune.
Instrumentation
String Quartet
Duration: 6'
First printing, December 2023
Copyright
PERUSAL SCORE
Commissioned by the Grant Park Music Festival Carlos Kalmar; Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
With Love, Joel Thompson March 2019
InResponsetotheMadness
forstringquartet
Furious,unrelenting =108
Fullofdespair,painfullyslow =36–40
senzasord.
senzasord.
senzasord.
senzasord.
moltorall.
PERUSAL SCORE
PERUSAL SCORE
PERUSAL SCORE
