THE THREE FATES

THE THREE FATES
for Augustin Hadelich

I. NONA
II. DECUMA
III. MORTA

The Three Fates exist in both Greek and Roman mythology and are often personified as three women toiling over a loom, determining the destiny of man and the allotment of his life. In Greek, their names were Clotho (Spinner) who spun the thread of human fate, Lachesis (Allotter) who dispensed it, and Atropos (Inflexible) who cut the thread, signifying the moment of death. The Roman goddesses were named Nona, Decuma, and Morta, which divide this solo violin work, The Three Fates.

The piece explores life betwixt birth and death, propelled forward and suspended in time through the shared spirit of the three fates. Nona begins with a tempo marking as the sun, signifying the brightness of birth and newness of light with the flight of adventure after an introduction of discovery. Decuma, a contrasting movement, explores the duality of life, the ups and downs, dividing the violin into a voice of two minds where one body accompanies itself, teetering back and forth between arco and pizzicato techniques. Lastly Morta, the finishing movement, is not a sad contemplation of life but an exuberant celebration, honoring its achievements in peaks and opposing valleys with the technical virtuosity of the instrument.

Because the three fates in this instance control but one body, that of the solo violin, elements of each of the movements appear in the others. They are a shared experience, each incomplete without the other stages of the journey, yet contained on their own as chapters within a life. The work remarks on the abundant possibilities that the soul is capable of.