"He's a grand, ungodly, god-like man, Captain Ahab; doesn't speak much; but, when he does speak, then you may well listen." (Melville, 71)

I hope that this piece may convey the varied, yet monomaniac tendencies that Ahab displayed throughout the novel. To communicate Ahab's singleminded focus, I repeated a specific descending melodic line throughout the piece, with slight variations as the piece developed, but with the same general sound and pattern. I interrupted this repeated figure with a more intense section with several repeated notes as a reflection of a specific narrative moment. In particular, I wanted to illustrate the moment of revelation that Ahab shares with the crew, when he makes them swear their oath to slay Moby Dick. After he retires to his cabin, he reflects to himself that "They think me mad --- Starbuck does; but I'm demoniac, I am madness maddened!" (149) It was this sense of frantic intensity that I hoped to convey with that interlude. The piece then returns to the initial repeated figure, as Ahab's possession subsides into his normal state during the pursuit of the White Whale. However, a variation is introduced into the figure, based on the harmonic minor scale, which is noted for having an Arabic or Middle-Eastern feel. The corruption of the initial melody with this new feel mirrored Fedallah's influence on Ahab as the novel progressed. Eventually, it reaches the point where the harmonic minor section is the only part of the figure being played, the point when Ahab looks over the side of the Pequod and finds Fedallah's eyes, not his own, staring back at him. Finally, I concluded the piece with a faster, louder section, corresponding to the lowering and chase for Moby Dick at the book's conclusion. There is one last melodic push, then the sound subsides, leaving only the sea behind as it calms.

-Henry

Ahab

Music to Read Moby Dick to