Monologue (2011)

Cello solo.             Score

± 15 MIN.

Monologue is a cello-solo piece in which the cellist shares a story with the audience.

Something dramatic has happened. It’s a secret. She* has to talk about it. She is in a dilemma and doesn’t know if she’s guilty, if she even did it intentionally, if it was an accident, or if she was inattentive. When does inattentiveness become indifference or even deliberate negligence?  She isn’t upset because of what happened, but is obsessed with how other people might interpret her role in the dramatic event.

*She or he, depending on the performer.

Monologue is written for the American cellist Hannah Collins.

Monologue has five movements:

    1. I.Prologue

    1. II. Frases

    1. III. Monologue

    1. IV. Toccata (words)

  1. V. Epilogue

Monologue texts – Patrick van Deurzen

II. Frases

peo-ple stare at me

I nee-d, I nee-d to tell you some-thing

I nee-d wa-ter

I hear the silk mur-me-ring of the wa-ter

I nee-d,

I nee-d to tell you some-thing

peo-ple stare at me

I need wa-ter

there was wa-ter,

Yes! Yes!

I hear the silk mur-mu-ring of wa-ter

when do you call some-thing an ac-ci-dent?

III. Monologue

We went to the woods.  It was a sun-ny day, a hap-py day. It was hot!

The heat made me hea-vy (I need wa-ter) I hear the silk mur-muring of the wa-ter.

I like to lis-ten to it with my eyes closed.

“Don’t go near the wa-ter,” I said. (a glass of cold wa-ter)

Eyes closed, a kind of o-ver-whel-ming white came through my eye-lids. The wa-ter was sing-ing to me.

“Don’t go near the wa-ter,” I said.

“Don’t an-noy me,” I said. I… I… I… don’t know… I want to go home, a-lone.

It was a sun-ny day, a hap-py day. Yes. Yes!

some-bo-dy screamed.

The heat made me hea-vy (I need wa-ter) I hear the silk mur-muring of the wa-ter.

I like to lis-ten to it with my eyes closed. (I need wa-ter) (a glass of cold wa-ter)

Did I scream? I am a good mo-ther [fa-ther]

“Are you cold…?” I asked.

IV. Toccata (words)

wa-ter

some-bo-dy

wa-ter

white

an-noy me

did I scream?

o-ver-whel-ming

don’t

wa-ter

don’t

mur-mu-ring

cold

white

o-ver-whel-ming

o-ver-whel-ming

white

wa-ter

don’t

cold

eyes closed

Yes!

white

wa-ter

cold

don’t

mur-mu-ring

when do you call some-thing

an ac-ci-dent?