Viola Sonata “Partita di Guerra” (2008/13)

Composed in 2008 (and revised in 2010), the sonata is written in the style of a baroque partita, as well as a theme and variation form. The piece was written in opposition to the Iraq war and programmatically depicts the anxiety, fear, and mental deterioration of a soldier fighting in the American civil war. In the final moments of the variations, the long awaited battle commences. Shortly thereafter, the soldier meets his death with a gunshot wound to his heart. As he slowly dies, the theme is finally heard representing his soul painfully leaving the body. The composition ends with his final breath.

2010 Boston, MA. Matthew Davies & James Hurley