Composer’s Note:

“A certain stunned muteness” was composed in early 2019, following the sudden death of Dr. David Macbride, a long-time professor of composition at the Hartt School. I derived much of the pitch material from the letters of David’s name. Some parts are made of rhythmic and melodic patterns which gently bump up against one another, or which change slowly over time. Other parts of the work were composed in an intuitive, meditative manner.

The haunting minor third motive heard at the beginning, and again throughout the work, seems at ask, “David, where are you?”