…for Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Violin, and Piano
Inspired by psychological studies done in the turn of the 19th century, Collective Conscience combines the theories of Émile Durkheim’s “collective conscious,” and Sigmund Freud’s “psychoanalytic theory,” into one cohesive blend. In particular, each movement is named after the three component parts of the mind: the id, the ego, and super-ego. In Freud’s own words:
“We approach the id with analogies: we call it a chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitations… It is filled with energy reaching it from the instincts [and] produces no collective will. […] Thus the ego, driven by the id, confined by the super-ego, repulsed by reality, struggles … [in] bringing about harmony among the forces and influences working in and upon it, [and readily] breaks out in anxiety—realistic anxiety regarding the external world, moral anxiety regarding the super-ego, and neurotic anxiety regarding the strength of the passions in the id. The super-ego […] punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt, […] a special psychical agency which performs the task of seeing that narcissistic satisfaction from the ego ideal is ensured…what we call our ‘conscience’.”
Written for Courtland R.C. Walters.
[Perusal Score] | [Purchase]
Premiere performance on February 25th, 2017 by:
AJ Lonzanida, clarinet
Cole Smith, saxophone
Bryce Bias, violin
Kelene Lee, piano