Following my work on the diegetic music for the film 12 Years A Slave, I became admittedly obsessed with the traditional fiddle reel, “Devil’s Dream.” During the film’s production, the reels and jigs which make up much of the film’s onscreen musical performances assumed lives of their own for me – characters unto themselves. One “hears” as much as sees Solomon’s downward emotional spiral through the music during the course of the film.

“Devil’s Dream,” which dates back to at least 1835 in New England (and possibly even earlier in central England), is performed on-screen at the very beginning of the film by the lead character, Solomon Northup. In context, the melody acquired a quality of innocence, hope, and elation for me, beyond the inherent energetic character of the music itself.

In writing “Dancing with the Devil” I attempted to turn this traditional tune on its head, setting an otherwise repetitive melody to a more evolving and shifting texture. The work begins in a highly energetic but unassuming manner. The soft intermittent chords in the piano soon grow more intense, at times even overtaking the melody played by the violin, turning into a frenetic joyful dance.