Duration: 16 minutes
Recording: from September 14, 2019 performance by Emerald City Music at Minnaert Center, Olympia WA. Kristin Lee, violin; Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet; John Rojak, trombone; Michael Thurber, double bass; Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion
Her Story of a Soldier – Score and Parts – $95.00
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Program Notes:
“Her Story of a Soldier,” a play on words from the French title “L’Histoire du soldat” by Stravinsky, examines the struggles of many women in the US Armed Forces to be seen and treated as equals to their male counterparts in their quest to serve their country. The narrative is inspired by a collection of stories published in the New York Times in early 2019. Composed in four movements, with the second movement leading seamlessly into the third, each movement addresses a different hurdle that these soldiers have to commonly overcome.
The first movement, titled “Your Country Wants You… Maybe,” begins with a confident statement in the trombone, expressing the optimism of a woman eager to enlist in the military. A floating melody in the clarinet relays her conversation with the recruiter about the specific branch and task in which she dreams of fulfilling. The music shifts to a drone bass and the drums and violin express the belittling voice of the recruiter, who tries to redirect the recruit. A back and forth exchange continues until the woman settles for the recruiter’s suggestion.
In the second movement, “Gemini,” the woman battles against contradictory expectations and stereotypes. She begins an awkward dance of pushing herself physically and mentally, never to the satisfaction of her peers. Similarly to the first movement, a shift in texture to active drums, double bass, and wild violin signify the ridicule that the woman receives for not fitting into an idealized feminine role. Nonetheless, she continues to push herself frantically to gain some respect. At the peak of this gesture, the ensemble drops out, leaving a solo clarinet line to express the woman’s exhaustion and loneliness in the start of the third movement that addresses the rampant sexual assault in the US Armed Forces, titled “On the Same Team?” With the violin entrance, the female soldier begins a dance with a sympathetic and supportive male colleague. The tone darkens at the entrance of the kettledrum as the “supportive” soldier pushes to take advantage of the woman’s lowered defenses. A fight ensues where the woman struggles to escape his advances, eventually breaking free with the return of the heightened, but ever more lonely clarinet melody.
The fourth movement, titled “Not Bad for a Girl,” begins with a building of confidence and momentum. At the entrance of an ostinato figure in the violin and trombone, other soldiers begin to take note of the woman’s accomplishments, but still work to outdo her. Through hard work and persistence, she is eventually able to earn the respect of her peers for her unique contributions, and they work together to serve better.
-Angelique Poteat
Angelique Poteat 