Triptych was written in January & February 2000. It interprets three paintings by Edvard Munch which give their titles to the three movements. In Melancholy the music attempts to capture the pervading mood created by the background of sea, sky and rocks into which the subject seems to blend and from which very little activity emerges. In The Scream the music explores the overwhelming beauty of the sunset by means of an out-of-focus harmony and contrasts this with the growing dissonance felt by the contorted figure viewing it all. In The Dance of Life the three main character types are represented by dances bound together in a constant frenzy: 'youthful innocence' is cast as a folk-dance, 'envy' by a Danse Macabre and 'sensualtity' by a Dance of Ecstasy.
The three movements should be performed without a break.
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