88
have painted my life, things happening in my life, without even knowing.”67 In both
versions, prior to the pause, the piano has two loud repeated chords that are a clear
reference back to the main sonority of the first movement (see Example 2.1). Perhaps this
is an allusion to O’Keeffe looking back over her lifetime of paintings. In the revision, a
fermata takes the place of the narrative and is followed by a quiet repetition of the piano
OStinato from the end of the previous movement as shown in Example 2.18. This creates
a feeling of continuation, causing the listener to be unaware that a new movement has
actually begun. With the omission of the text, the function of the movement in the
instrumental version is entirely different and causes the piece to end in a much more
cryptic manner.
Example 2.18: Black Birds, Red Hills, FourthZFifth mvt., mm. 93-99
67 O’Keeffe, 52.