I. Salmacis, the Curious Nymph  lived in a beautiful lake on Mount Ida.  One day a shy youth named Hermaphroditus took a break from his hunting to bathe in its cool waters.  Salmacis conceived an immediate passion for him, but he resisted her overtures.  In exasperation she beseeched the gods to make them inseparable, and they complied, fusing the two bodies into one creature, neither man nor woman, yet both.  Fused as one, they sank beneath the surface and drowned.  The gods granted Hermaphroditus his last wish, that the water causes impotence for all who bathe in them.
Music player

II. Pirene, the Lamenting Nymph  bore two sons by the god Poseidon, but both sons perished horribly.  Her grief was inconsolable and she sat weeping outside the gates of Corinth.  Her endless tears transformed her into a fountain which remains in Corinth to this day.
Music player

III. Echo, the Chattering Nymph  belonged to the retinue of Hera, wife of Zeus.  Whenever Zeus began an amorous affair, Echo distracted his wife with chattering gossip and singing.  When Hera discovered the ruse, she deprived Echo of speech, condemning her to repeat the last syllable of whatever she heard.  Rejected by her beloved Narcissus, Echo withdrew to live in solitary caves, where her voice lives on.
Music player

IV. Callisto, the Heroic Nymph  took a vow of chastity in order to join the retinue of Artemis.  When the amorous Zeus appeared to her disguised as Artemis, Callisto realized the deception too late.  To protect Callisto from Artemis’ wrath, Zeus changed her into a great bear, but Artemis killed her with arrows.  After her death, Callisto was transformed into a constellation of stars, which can still be seen in the night sky.
Music player

In November 2007, English Horn artist Ryan Zwahlen asked me to compose a new work for a CD devoted to the unaccompanied English Horn.  The unique timbre of the instrument, expressive yet austere, conjures up the spirit of the aulos, the double-reed instrument of ancient Greece.  This association led me to Greek mythology, with its exotic tales of strong emotions and bold actions.  Ryan’s skill as a performer encouraged me to push the boundaries of the instrument, to capture the passionate intensity of the nymphs’ stories.  The resulting CD, In the City at Night is available for purchase or download from CDbaby.com.