(Unperformed)
The Raven is a setting of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven for Alto/Baritone Voice and Orchestra. It uses several different motifs, such as a “brooding” motif that uses a 3+3+2 rhythm, a “Lenore” theme, and a falling half-step to represent the Raven, and combines and transforms these motifs throughout the piece to follow and depict the poem. The central idea in this setting of the poem is that the narrator tries to but cannot escape his grief for Lenore, which is represented in the Raven, who’s theme gets continually tied with Lenore’s theme, both of which revolve around the half-step dissonance that returns each time with the refrain ‘Nevermore’. The narrator tries to use the ‘brooding’ theme to confront these other themes, but it cannot overpower them and disappears entirely by the end.
Specific instrumentation details are in the second page of the score.
Recording (midi):
For additional information, questions, or parts requests, contact Aidan.