CAPRICE No. 7, Echo and Narcissus (2005) Op. 75

Opus number: op. 75

Title: Caprice No. 7, Echo and Narcissus

Instrumentation: vibraphone/narrator

Text: Ovid

Commission: Nick Tolle

Dedication: Nick Tolle

Date written: June 2005

Length: eight minutes

Premiere performance: January 20, 2008, Larry Bell, narrator, Nick Tolle, vibraphone. NEC’s Williams Hall. (Boston premiere)

Subsequent performances: Nick Tolle, Amsterdam

Program Notes: Caprice No. 7, Echo and Narcissus, Op. 75, is written for solo vibraphone and narrator. The narrator part was originally designed to be spoken by the vibraphonist, but could effectively be performed by a separate speaker. The work was written for Nick Tolle in 2006 and is a continuation of my series of pieces for solo instrument titled Caprice. Caprice No. 7 was premiered in Amsterdam in the spring of 2007 by Nick Tolle and later performed in January of 2008 with the composer as narrator. The text was taken from Ovid and is the familiar story from Greek mythology of the transformation of Narcissus into a constellation.