Chris Cerrone: HOW TO BREATHE UNDERWATER as performed by Ithaca College Contemporary Ensemble on April 14th, 2022 in Hockett Family Recital Hall under the musical direction of Chris Coletti.

Composer’s Notes:

“How to Breathe Underwater is a portrait of depression. In the same way that composers of the 19th century wrote miniatures based on the figures of the Commedia Dell’arte, How to Breathe Underwater was inspired by a character in the Jonathan Franzen novel, Freedom. While reading the novel, I was struck by the character named Connie Monaghan. The author described her as having “no notion of wholeness—[she] was all depth and no breadth. When she was coloring, she got lost in saturating one or two areas with a felt-tip pen.” This kind of singular obsession—the sense of being overwhelmed, and eventually drowned, inspired me to compose this piece. In fact, I initially called the piece All Depth and No Breadth. However, I decided that How to Breathe Underwater was a more appropriate title. In the end, I wanted to suggest optimism, not fatalism.”

Performers

Chris Coletti, vocals

Emily Austin, bass clarinet

Sarah Flynn, trumpet

Miranda Lape, trombone