Psychosis
INFORMATION
Instrumentation: Solo Clarinet
Duration: 05’ 50”
Year of Composition: 2014
The work received its premiere performance on November 9, 2014 at the New Directions Composers Concert at California State University, Northridge by Ryan Espinosa, soloist.
RECORDING
Soloist: Ryan Espinosa
PROGRAM NOTES
Psychosis, for solo clarinet, was written as a challenge for my clarinet colleague and me. It incorporates this sense of paranoia, craziness, and hallucinations that one can only think about when it comes to the abnormal condition of the mind. Psychosis is often described as involving a “loss of contact with reality,” and it is with this idea that perhaps, the player will be accompanied by unusual or bizarre behavior often echoing with what the music is depicting. It’s the stress of experiencing these continuously changing mood swings that contribute to and trigger psychotic states of the mind.