LEIB: Meditation and Variations

Composer's note: The Meditation and its subsequent variations are a musical portrait of the conflicting emotional states of the main character Leib from Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "Under the Knife". Throughout these variations the violin expresses that which Leib can neither adequately express nor understand. The violin tells of the conflict that tortures Leib's sanity: the rage for revenge on his unfaithful wife, juxtaposed with the piety and profound religiosity of his Jewish spirit. The violin cries aloud for his wounded pride - having lost his wife to another man - and weeps at the shame he feels being cast out from his community. The violin gives expression to his confused feelings for a prostitute with whom he consequently takes up and consoles his otherwise lonely existence. It is his soul and subconscious. It is the mirror through which we, the audience, gaze inwardly upon Leib.