Four Delineations of Curtmantle
Karen P. Thomas
About this work:
Program Note
"...he was strongly built, with a large, leonine head, freckled, fiery face, and red hair cut short...He would walk or ride until his attendants and courtiers were worn out and his feet and legs covered with blisters and sores. This terrifying energy was the keynote of his whole character, and must have shone in his face, for it was said that men flocked to gaze upon him..."
John Harvey. The Plantagenets, Chapter 1, "Henry II"
"Curtmantle" was the nickname given to Henry II, King of England (1133-1189), because of the short cloak or mantle which he wore (in contrast to the long cloaks worn by the Normans). The Delineations are musical portrayals of four events in the life of the king. The first movement, "...of the cloak given to a beggar", recalls an incident wherein Henry and his friend Thomas Becket come across a beggar while out riding together. The good-natured Henry decides that Becket should have the honor of donating his cloak to the beggar. However, the somewhat less generous Becket is more inclined to keep his cloak than give it away. After a struggle, Henry wrests the cloak away from his friend and cheerfully tosses it to the bewildered beggar. The second movement, "The Penitent at Becket's Tomb" depicts Henry doing penance at the tomb of Becket after the latter's murder by Henry's soldiers. Henry's personal grief at the loss of his friend contrasts sharply with the public show of penance which he is forced to make for the murder of a popular public figure. The third movement represents Eleanor of Acquitaine and her conflicts, private and public, with her husband, Henry. Will Durant writes that Eleanor "absorbed all the culture and character (of southwestern France, her place of birth): vigor of body and poetry of motion, passion of temper and flesh, freedom of mind and manners and speech, lyric fantasies and sparkling esprit, a boundless love of love and war and every pleasure, even to the death." The final movement, "Dies Irae", shows the king struggling with death; a lonely and bitter man whose wife and sons have warred against him in open rebellion.
Four Delineations of Curtmantle exists in two versions: one for solo trombone and one for solo cello. It is dedicated to the trombonist, Monique Buzzarte, and has received dozens of performances throughout the United States and Europe since its premiere in 1983.
Version: solo cello
Year composed: 1985
Duration: 00:10:00
Ensemble type: Solo instrument, non-keyboard:Cello
Instrumentation: 1 Cello
Instrumentation notes: vc