Solitude

Ellington’s ballad “Solitude” gives Paul Darac a sudden, physical encounter with the feelings he has been carrying: as veteran singer Dinah performs it, the song’s isolation and longing bring Angeline to mind.

The Performance

A trio begins the introduction while Darac circles behind the room toward the bar. He wonders how often the musicians have played the tune; drums, bass, and piano sound so closely joined that they seem like one instrument. The practiced unity of the accompaniment sets the stage for a performance built on experience rather than novelty. Dinah listens to the introduction at centre stage, smiling with rapt attention. Her lined, heavily made-up face and gold lamé dress make her look almost like a parody of her former self. The description holds appearance and performance in tension: the visible signs of age do not prepare Darac for the force of her voice.

Voice and Emotional Effect

Dinah begins with the drawn-out opening phrase, “In my solitooooood…” Her voice is no longer as smooth as it was in its silky prime, and within a few bars Darac can hear that her range has shifted lower. Yet the song does not depend on vocal polish alone. Dinah’s simple approach to its melody and lyrics conveys isolation and longing so palpably that Darac breaks out in goosebumps.

Angeline in the Song

As Dinah’s final notes die away, Darac thinks only of Angeline. The song’s emotional force thus turns a public performance into a private recognition: its loneliness and yearning give shape to feelings that the scene does not have him explain aloud. The room erupts in applause, but the decisive effect has already occurred inwardly, in the association between the song and the absent Angeline.