Sketch on Beloved

Program Notes:

Sketch on Beloved was written by Ishan Ghosh in 2023 as a creative response to Toni Morrison’s award-winning book Beloved. He felt entitling it a sketch was appropriate, as it rapidly shifts between various styles, moods, and qualities. Drawing from the styles of David Maslanka, Percy Grainger, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, this work responds to the thoughts Ishan felt while reading the novel.

In the beginning, the moving notes in the flute along with the texture of the harp attempt to depict the serenity of life before Beloved–occasionally punctuated with the trumpet’s “whip” and runs and ornaments in other voices symbolizing the recurring past and that something is not quite right. The solo horn in F enters with a melody resembling a Bach chorale, eventually harmonized by the rest of the section, that prominently features the Dies Irae motif–symbolic of how Beloved eventually drains Sethe of her ability to live.

The chorale is then transformed into a lighthearted, almost childish, melody in the strings – still punctuated by “the past”– that represents the childlike joy Beloved appears to bring to the family. Eventually, the flowing woodwind and harp textures of the beginning return, but in a minor key, the build to a climax in G minor, emphasizing the gravity of the isolation the three main characters would enter. It is followed by a falling chromatic descent that somewhat echoes the second half of the chorale. The chorale melody by solo horn in F in minor key, truly all alone, the fall unseen.

The approaching community’s footsteps to remove Sethe from her isolation is echoed in the dotted rhythmic figure in the percussion, followed by the various songs and shouts of the community increasing in volume and magnitude depicted in the various layers of the orchestral instruments – an entirely new motif representing collectively overcoming the monster that Beloved is presented in the clarinet and strings. This section culminates in thirteen bass drum hits – alone, isolated from the rest of the orchestra – to symbolize both Sethe’s attempted murder of Mr. Bodwin and the abandonment Beloved perceived.

The piece returns to the original pre-Beloved scene, though the horn is supported by the clarinet, symbolizing Sethe being supported by Paul D. The motif introduced in the clarinet is echoed in the winds, though the initial motif with Beloved is in the most unlikely of places – a solo cello, symbolizing the community’s inability to truly forget the events that transpired despite their best efforts. This is further emphasized by the seemingly-unresolved ending.

Full Music Score: Sketch on Beloved Score