“My House is Ancient” is the fifth movement of a six-part chamber drama entitled Black Wings, in which the male lead (tenor) commits adultery with his brother’s wife (soprano). To maintain her affection, however, he must agree to kill her husband, his brother. Despite the crime’s success, the new lovers quickly tire of one another; she finds a new man, and he, weighted by guilt and loneliness, loses his mind. 

The fifth movement is a dirge with several peaks of euphoria. The soprano sings it following her husband’s murder, but she is not mourning for him. Rather, she mourns her own plight: the unarticulated loneliness, hatred and boredom that tempted her to unfaithfulness continue to hound her even after her husband’s death. She spurns the company of her new lover and seeks an ecstatic communion with the dead. The crisis of the movement arrives when the soprano, beholding a figure in her home, realizes it is not the longed-for ghost, but her lover, whom she has begun to despise.

Deepest thanks to performers Alexis Evers (flute), Chelsea Oden (clarinet), Ramsey Sadaka (cello) and Estelí Gomez (soprano) for performing this piece.

My House Is Ancient (Estelí Gomez, soprano)

Daniel Daly