THE SOMNAMBULIST
for String Quartet

music by W. Brent Sawyer
composed 4/27/2021
approx. length: 5:00 minutes

(dedicated to Evan Knapp)

This piece is based on a scale with the lowered 3rd and raised 6th & 7th - like the Melodic Minor scale however, the natural 6th and 7th are never used at all in the piece - so it is the same as the Ascending Melodic Minor. The 1st and last sections are in Am (raised 6 & 7th) and the middle section is in Ebm (raised 6th & 7th). The piece is completely diatonic except for one 3 note motif that adds the chromatic passing tone (measure 31-32.)

Video from the 1919 German silent film, "The Cabinet of Di Caligari" and performance artist John Kelly's 1986 performance of "Diary of a Somnambulist" at The Limbo Lounge which was inspired by "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."