[version for soprano and orchestra]
Instrumentation
soprano and small orchestra: 2(pic,afl).1(EH).2(bcl).1 – 2.1.1.1 – 2perc – hp.pno(cel) – strs
Duration
22 minutes
Program Note
I have always been drawn to the writing of Djuna Barnes, the American author best known for her 1936 novel Nightwood, an early landmark of lesbian fiction. Her characters are always sharply drawn, and are nearly always either despicable or heartbreakingly naïve. Often things go wrong for them in such a way that they are left as something less than human. All of this describes “Cassation,” a 1929 short story detailing the end of an ambiguous relationship between two women, which this piece adapts.
“Cassation” is originally a monologue: Katya, the younger woman, recounts to an unseen and unheard listener the story of her involvement with Gaya, an older woman who brings her to live together at her palatial home in Berlin. Though Katya, as the narrator, is ostensibly the story’s protagonist, we hear much more from Gaya, who gradually begins to unravel. Alternately maternal and callous, paranoid and imperious, her deeply rooted insecurities and abject nihilism ultimately drive those closest to her away. I find both Katya and Gaya to be incredibly sympathetic—this is ultimately a deeply human story of mismatched people, refracted through Barnes’ baroque sensibilities.
I first read “Cassation” in the winter of 2024, and was struck immediately by its potential for adaptation. Having two characters sung by the same soprano poses interesting challenges in performance, and the decision of whether to distinguish Gaya from Katya in some way rests entirely with the performer. The music remains the same, underscoring and commenting upon the unfolding drama.
Barnes, for some, can be a difficult writer to love—an analogy I often use is that reading her work can be like stumbling around in a damp basement with the lights off. And yet even in the face of such impenetrable darkness, where the monstrosity of life is on full display, her characters remain spectacularly alive, and demand to be looked at. In setting her prose to music, I hope to have cast just enough light such that her world glitters from within its inky blackness.
Cassation lasts approximately 22 minutes in performance. The text is used and adapted with permission from the Authors League Fund and St. Bride’s Church, joint literary executors of the Estate of Djuna Barnes.
Note on the Text
The sung text is primarily drawn from the latter half of Djuna Barnes’ short story “Cassation,” with some additional text taken from “A Little Girl Tells A Story To A Lady” (an earlier version). Light edits were made by the composer for clarity and grammar. Performers may find it helpful to read these short stories in their entirety, to gain a deeper understanding of the material. “A Little Girl Tells A Story To A Lady” is in the public domain and can be found online, while “Cassation” appears in the collection I Am Alien To Life, published by McNally Editions in 2024.
Tristan Wilson 