Musically, it seemed appropriate (and logical) to depict the repetitive, reinterpretive nature of these images by means of variation technique. I determined early on to represent these expanding dimensions on a multiplicity of levels including those of pitch, motive, gesture, and process. But combined with this, I also decided to gradually extend the real-time durations of the variations while simultaneously increasing their speed. The result is a series of ever-longer, ever-faster restatements (or recurrences) more suggestive of rapid eye movement than of undisturbed slumber.
Fittingly, the composition begins and ends with music of a more tranquil tone. The introduction (Canonic Berceuse) serves as the musical seedbed of the ensuing variations but also foreshadows the shape of the work as a whole. Its mood and tonality are suggestive of Chopin's Berceuse in Db major. In contrast to this crypticism, the conclusion features a lullaby in which the primary pitch sequence is most fully exposed. Here all calculation ceases as the piece drifts off to a somewhat ambiguous resolution. Recurring Dreams is dedicated to Leslie Bassett.