Infatuation

This song cycle is as fleeting and short, but as dramatic and sporadic as the feeling of infatuation itself. Abrasive transitions between musical ideas and sudden changes in mood and texture take the listener through the singer’s experience as a character who finds themselves in the throes of romantic infatuation. This piece paints an image of a foolish, immature character, who thrusts themselves carelessly into a shallow romantic obsession, then accuses the other party of leading them on when their feelings are not reciprocated. The song cycle concludes with the singer reconciling these unrequited feelings (albeit in a self-aggrandizing, overdramatic way) and recognizing that this cycle will repeat itself. Deliberately cliche harmony - particularly in the second movement, mirroring the melancholic self-pity in which the singer wallows - is juxtaposed with tense dissonance, evocative of the chaotic emotional state of the character.

We often feel that love is the strongest emotion, and it has inspired a great deal of moving art as a result. However, this song cycle looks at the closely related feeling of infatuation. Some may call it love, others may call it love-adjacent, and some might not relate it to love at all. Nevertheless, it can be an arduous, emotionally violent experience. We often hope that as we mature, we grow out of such unhealthy patterns of attraction, but the end of this song cycle gives us no clear conclusion; it is left ambiguous whether or not the narrator will learn from this experience, or if they are doomed to perpetually repeat this taxing process.