Darleen Mitchell

flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion

Composer's note: The Train by Carl Slotboom is a play about two holocaust survivors who tell their story, remembering the events of several decades ago when they were young. It seems that many of their memories are buried, and they are reluctant to speak of that time in their lives, but the present day couple, on a train trip, finds that they are thrust into a memory loop by the train itself. The train becomes a symbol, a catalyst for something to happen. The older couple begins to remember events in their past, events that have been long buried in their memories. They discover that the presence of the past, buried and then remembered, strengthens their love and gives them hope.

The main themes of the play are: the past (Europe in the 1930s and 40s), waiting, fear and apprehension, love, and hope. Europe in the 1930s is represented by some melodic material from German-Jewish folk and popular songs of the period. The Waiting Theme has elements that are repetitive, but uneasy, to give a sense of time passing slowly. The melodies representing the different emotional states are related, but separate, and some are derived from a row constructed from elements of the German songs.