D a v i d   V e s s

The text is by William Shakespeare, from The Tempest. The first words are "Be not afeard". I decided to set the opening as if it were a nightmare, and so we begin in a very dissonant landscape. From there, "Be not afeard", becomes more calming, as if seeking reassurance. We enter a glade of music, with weird echoes and long melismas, ancient and eerily seductive. The music builds into the clouds, climaxing with colorful and bright sonorities, before quietly evaporating, leaving before we can grasp its meaning, just like dreams.