Resolution
Steven Winteregg
About this work:
Resolution was commissioned by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and is dedicated to my wife, Candy.
When I was first approached about a commission from the DPO, Neal Gittleman asked me to write a piece of a serious nature. At about the same time, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and was undergoing treatment. In my mind, a serious piece required a serious subject matter, so Candy’s battle with cancer became the focus of my composition.
I had recently composed A Mass in Time of Trouble, which explored the various stages of response that one experiences when suffering a death or a loss. Based on the work of Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, these stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. During Candy’s diagnosis and treatment, I noticed that she went through a similar passage of emotions. Consequently, Resolution begins with the time before the diagnosis, proceeds into the shock of the news, goes through periods of panic, denial and depression, progresses through the struggle of the treatment and finally ends with some sense of acceptance.
Since the piece generally follows this narrative, the form of the piece is closest to that of a tone poem. This musical form, which was advanced by Richard Strauss, tends to be one of two categories: descriptive and philosophical. Resolution falls somewhere between these two types of tone poems.
One can hear two distinct motives throughout the piece. The first is either an expanding or contracting musical pattern based on half steps. This motive represents the fear of the expanding cancer and the focus that one places on the tumor. The second motive is a repeated note pattern that I call the “persistent” theme because the thought of the cancer never really goes away.
Two musical quotations occur in the composition as well. The first is the melody of a 19th-century hymn, It is Well with My Soul, which floats above the machine-like music depicting the treatment. The second is a very short quote from the Agnus Dei of Faure’s Requiem, which occurs at the end of this same section of music. The music of both quotations held special significance to me during this period of time, and both symbolize the faith in God that sustained us.
The title of the piece, Resolution, has multiple meanings. It refers to the fight and determination that Candy exhibited through her operation and treatment, but it also signifies the constant search for finality throughout the whole experience. Cancer changes your outlook on life, because no matter how distant the thought of it may be, it is always there, hovering and lurking in the shadows. This can be heard toward the end of the piece when the ominous musical strains of cancer return before moving toward the sounds of trust and acceptance, but the music never really resolves to a complete finality.
Year composed: 2007
Duration: 00:13:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: 1 Piccolo, 2 Flute, 2 Oboe, 2 Clarinet, 2 Bassoon, 4 Horn in F, 2 Trumpet, 3 Trombone, 1 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 3 Percussion (General), 1 Piano, 1 Viola, 1 Cello, 1 Double bass
Instrumentation notes: Standard string section