Clocks from a Winter's Tale

As its title suggests, Clocks from The Winter's Tale developed out of material originally conceived for Ryan Wigglesworth’s opera based upon William Shakespeare’s play. The subtitle of that play – ‘The Triumph of Time’ – is particularly pertinent. Rash acts are shown to cause catastrophe, while the power of time’s constant progression gradually returns those harmed to their rightful places, and establishes the true course of destiny once more. The circularity of time, the warping of the listener's perception of time, and the juxtaposition of ‘clock’ time and psychological time are the work’s central ideas.