Georges Seurat painted 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte' between May 1884 and May 1886, focusing meticulously on the landscape of the park. Scholars have theorized La Grande Jatte to be a mirror impression of one of Seurat’s earlier paintings, "Bathers at Asnières", completed in 1884. A stark difference between the two works is however, the ‘bathers’ in the earlier painting are exclusively expressed in light, whereas almost every figure on La Grande Jatte appears to have a shadow, whether that shadow is casted upon them by an object or another person. In the painting's center stands a little girl dressed in white who stares directly at the viewer of the painting. The little girl is the only character of the painting without a shadow.

In "Shadows", the idea of the shadows within the painting as well as the absence of a shadow for the girl in white is evoked through the single-movement miniature symphonic tone poem using register, texture, counterpoint, and chromaticism. The trajectory of the piece begins in a darkness, at the center of the shadow that opens into a sweeping melodic line with chromatic moments throughout to signify a glimmer of light in the form of hope, reason, justice, or innocence amid the shadows. Seurat interprets this aspect of the painting himself as, “their prospects bleakly, cloaked as they are in shadow and suspicion of sin...” (BBC, The Private Life of a Masterpiece (2005) Series 4, Georges Seurat: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.) where the girl in white is silently questioning the audience: "What will become of these people and their class?" This symphonic miniature explores these aspects of life both within and beyond the shadows.

Shadows: A Symphonic Miniature

Jessica T. Carter (b. 1992) is a composer, performer (violinist & mezzo-soprano), and educator from Indiana described as evocative and lyrical by Aspire Magazine and Apricity Magazine, respectively, who is swiftly making a name for herself. Specializing in concert music, film scoring, and musical theatre, Jessica's aim and goal in music is to intersect the relationship between vitriol and compassion through empathy, highlighting the lives marginalized children while deepening the universal understanding of the marginalized adult through sonic engagement that extends to the narrative of human nature through the message of hope.