Marvelous Light | Domain of Darkness

Program Notes

This piece finds its conceptual content in Carl Jung’s idea of the Shadow self, counterpart to the Conscious self. The Conscious self is the part of the personality that we willingly show to others and the part that we are most fond of. The Shadow self is the part of the personality that reveals itself without our conscious will and tends to represent the worst side of the personality. The Shadow is developed in childhood through interaction with parents and caregivers. The Shadow is not inherently negative, though it is generally seen this way. For example, the Shadow may hold the positive value of not treating others poorly, while it can simultaneously hold the negative value of not expressing your true emotions. The goal of Shadow work is to integrate the Conscious self with the Shadow self to form one whole True self.

The text of this piece personifies the Shadow self and Conscious self as they exist within the mind. Part I is in the view of the Conscious self while Part II is in the perspective of the Shadow self. The events of this story assume the two parts of this personality are not integrated. The image of the Shadow self is influenced by horror subjects like Slenderman or the alien from the original Alien film: what we fear the most is what we cannot see or understand. The music sets the text and adds a moment of reflection as an epilogue for performers and audiences to consider the ramifications of leaving the Shadow unintegrated.

Anika Kildegaard, Soprano

Will Yager, Double Bass