Asking a Shadow to Dance (for Quartet)

Composer's Note:

"Asking a Shadow to Dance" was commissioned by Trio Con Brio of Texas Christian University, for clarinet, viola and piano, at the request of clarinetist Gary Whitman. This revision and adaptation for clarinet, violin, cello and piano was written for Stephanie Key and the new music ensemble Soli in 2019.

It is vaguely programmatic, in that the inspiration and musical motives are derived from a one-act chamber opera, My New Voice (story and libretto by my brother, Bruce Balentine)...

Trevor, a genius inventor, lives with his friend and caregiver, Elizabeth. Born with motor neuron disease, Trevor is confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak. He has chosen to use an old-fashioned artificial voice until he can develop his own personal communication tools. Trevor's inner voice is sung by Trevor Shadow, his only "real" voice. The music expresses the frustrations, and humor, of miscommunication between the characters, including a mis-aligned yet joyous tango between Trevor and Elizabeth, ultimately concluding that the limitations in our ability to communicate and express ourselves are not just physical, and often, not really limitations.

The title is from a quote by Carl Sandburg - "poetry is an echo asking a shadow to dance."