David Trum

Eternity is like unto a Ring (2018)

Mezzo-Soprano, Flute, Violin, Percussion, Piano,

and Stereo Fixed-Format Audio.

This piece is a reflection on the relationships between time, love, and eternity, with English writer John Bunyan’s poem “Upon Time and Eternity” framing the work as the text for the first and final movements.  The rest of the text is self-composed, though I pulled much inspiration from the writings of Robert Browning, Henry Thoreau, and C.S. Lewis.

Just as “The Ring has no beginning, middle, end”, this piece forgoes a linear narrative structure and instead exists largely within one musical moment, which is explored one layer at a time.  This gradual unfolding of musical layers also parallels the introspective journey of the text, as it slowly proceeds from the universal to the more intimate and vulnerable.

I have always loved music that plays with time and context- specifically the way that musical context can frame our experience of a melody or idea.  The Sigur Rós EP, Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do [consisting of three tracks of atmospheric electronic music that can be played simultaneously to make one new piece] has long inspired me to explore similar tricks within live, notated music. I am also a huge fan of the sound and aesthetic of backwards audio, as in classic psychedelic rock like Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?” and The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows”.  Through this new composition, I have been able to indulge in both of these passions.  Over the course of the piece, musical motives and even whole movements overlay, intertwine, and appear in reverse- revealing new insights and relationships between them.

This piece was written and premiered as part of a collaboration between my podcast Sean & Dave Make Music and the ensemble Illumine: Kaitlyn Waterson- Mezzo-Soprano, Sean Arawjo- Flute, David Brown- Violin, Jodie Brown- Piano, David Trum- Percussion (Djembe and Glockenspiel).

Text/Song Map

(Mvmt. 1 text from “Upon Time and Eternity” by John Bunyan.  Mvmt. 2 inspired by “Now” by Robert Browning)

Eternity is like unto a Ring,

Time, like to measure, doth itself extend,

Measure commences, is a finite thing.

The Ring has no beginning, middle, end.

Give but a moment,

One moment.

Forget the years before,

And those in store.

Awaken dormant heart to this

One precious moment,

Unbroken,

When tender, open hearts entwine,

And dance that mystic line,

Where Love flows free of time.

Time, like to measure, is a finite thing.

We seek Time, to understand,

To control all we’ve planned.

But Time brings change, unforeseen,

Fading youth, traded dreams.

Loss of friends, loss of home,

Time can turn a heart to stone.

Yet every moment,  contains a new dawn

A chance to wake, to glimpse beyond

Awaken the joy, awaken the pain,

Awake to the present and all it contains,

As tonight,

We lay bare our secrets,

Our weakness,

Our fears we’ve never dared to name,

and scars we’ve hid in shame,

till only Love remains.

Eternity is like unto a Ring,

Time, like to measure, doth itself extend,

Measure commences, is a finite thing.

The Ring has no beginning, middle, end.