Friedrich's Somniloquy

I had just performed a concert with a composition on dreams when I learned I had been commissioned to compose a piece for Young Euro Classic. It feels as if I haven’t yet awoken from this dream – so I will continue dreaming it. A dream is an intangible and eerie thing – just like reality is. For someone like me, studying in a foreign country, life is not foreseeable – just as it is in dreams. People come to this place from all over the world, speaking their own language – which sounds like a conversation in a dream. Friedrich is the given name of Schiller, the German poet. Here, I certainly don’t mean Schiller. This Friedrich can be everyone – he can be a small child dreaming of adventure, a travelling painter or even an old man telling stories. Friedrich is a beautiful name that represents the romantic nature and the courageous and strong mindset of the Germans. A poet often has fantastical ideas and behaves unusually. In my composition, I try to synthesize these characteristics; in other words combine elements that are mystical, romantic, optimistic, humorous, wise and persevering into a single figure and in a single language. This dream–composition lasts only a few minutes in which flashes of a nice and a horrible dream alternate. The piece has two themes: the dominant theme, which appears at the beginning and is repeated in various forms. It represents the concrete form of the dream dialogue. The dreamer talks to the various dreams in changing moods. The latent theme is concealed in the high notes of the violins and is emphasized in the middle and at the end of the piece as an independent theme – connoting the essence of the dream dialogue. Somniloquy – sleep talking – is an unconscious behavior, an indirect reaction to what one has experienced in reality. Somniloquy reveals the secrets of the heart and is a truthful account from one’s soul. I never want to awaken from this musical dream. Fay Wang