Programme Note
Composer note:The writing of this piece was for me somewhat akin to writing an essay about the experience of "letting go" — about the need to make peace with life's fleeting quality and the inevitability of death. It has often been said that one can only be brought to a healing place by going fully into the dark spaces of our lives, to confront and experience the sadness, fear, rage, and grief that we have hidden from ourselves. So much precipitated the writing of this music: the death of a friend and mentor; the onset of the Gulf War — a war in the cradle of civilization; and my return to what was once the center of civilization, Rome — with its monuments to carnage and compassion standing side by side (indeed, Rome itself struck me last fall as a gigantic "memento mori," a brutal reminder of times passing). Certain literary inspirations also contributed to the writing of this piece: portions of Robert Bly's "Iron John," Arthur Egendorf's "Healing from the War" (about Vietnam), and the poetry of Rilke were constant companions.
— Richard Danielpour