Echoes of Melancholy was composed during a time of international social and political strife in which we witness profound acts of cruelty and senseless discrimination in the United States and around the world. While the work is not inherently political in nature, it is a reflection of the sadness I continue to experience during this time – a sadness which may lead to hope for a more peaceful future.

Echoes of Melancholy is a continuous variation and development of simple motivic and harmonic ideas involving descending semitones, traditionally thought of as a “sighing” or “wailing” gesture. Motivic and harmonic structures tend to repeat throughout the work, interspersed with chromatic, tonal modulations.

The work was commissioned by a consortium of bassoonists from around the United States initiated by Jacob Goforth. Completed on November 1, 2017, it is approximately fourteen minutes in duration.

Echoes of Melancholy is dedicated to the memory of my friend and teacher Ladislav Kubík, who passed away on October 27, 2017 as I was completing the work.