Lost and Found (2020) for soprano, violin, cello, and piano

When soprano Amy Madagan Walton approached me about writing Lost and Found, she mentioned that she would like to convey her fascination for the cosmos. Instantly, my mind was drawn to the idea, excited to employ extended harmonies and various string techniques to emanate the sparkling quality of the stars. I began by crafting poetry that captures the playful yet contemplative nature of Ms. Walton’s fascination. The text warranted division into three movements, each focusing on a different aspect of the journey of a soul in the cosmos - curiosity, insecurity, and enlightenment. This evolution is described with different textures, from intertwining melodies to reserved and pulsing dissonances to waltz-like figures with glassy harmonics.

The final movement - and piece - concludes with an important line from which the title of the piece is drawn: “Finding myself and losing myself, simultaneously.” With each repetition, a word is removed from the end of the sentence, fading into the instruments which bring the work to a close.

1. Wandering through Planes

2. Suspended

3. Befriending Stars