Melorhythmic Dramas (1966)

Carlos Surinach's Melorhythmic Dramas was commissioned by the Meadow Brook Music Festival Committee, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan. Dedicated to the Meadow Brook Festival, the work was premiered on August 16, 1966, by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with Sixten Ehrling as Musical Director.

'Through verse, prose, music, dance - or whatever may be - drama is a performed event involving intense conflict of forces. Effect, action, artifice, and contrasts are part of it. To give the feeling of drama, a theatrical trend is not compulsary. Pure melorhythmic music (and its orchestral technique) may have the power to express dramaticemotions without yielding to human deeds or stage stituations'. - Carlos Surinach

The seven Melorhythmic Dramas: 1. Fervid 2. Festive 3. Poignant 4. Tragic 5.Voluptuous 6. Vehement 7. Mournful