Overture to Benito Cereno

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This overture is inspired by the first few pages of description in Herman Melville’s novella, Benito Cereno. The novella, in turn, is based on a true story of how an American sea captain meets with a Spanish captain aboard a slave ship on which a revolt has recently occurred. Because the slaves have threatened the Spanish captain and made him act as though nothing is wrong, the American captain does not realize what the reality of the situation is. It is this quality of the masquerade that gives the story its interesting perspective: as the master plays the part of the master, the slave plays the part of the slave, while the reality is the opposite. In my overture I have tried to convey this ambiguity against the sonic background of Melville’s oceanic description.