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Sheet Music: Score & Part(s)Absence : for string quartet and absent violinist / by Houston Dunleavy.by Houston Dunleavy (2011)
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Product details
killed by Al Qaeda in Pakistan. He was a violinist, singer,
student and friend. His story has been told often, most famously
in the film A Mighty Heart.
There are many of us, who feel his absence keenly. This piece
happened simply because of that. Not only does it owe its title
and instrumentation to my memories of Daniel Pearl, but its
genesis was at the request of Carolyn Levin, a violist who lives
in Los Angeles.
The work is very simple, relying on the simple melody first heard
in the cello. All of the harmonic material and subsequent melodic
material is based on this opening cello writing. A couple of
other, more symbolic elements are included in this short string
quartet. The first is the use of the voices of the players to
sing, as almost ghostly echo, some of the sustained string
chords. This is meant to symbolise Daniel's enjoyment of singing,
while the empty chair with a violin on it ought to be fairly
obvious.
Absence, then, is meant to symbolise all of the contact
points I had with Daniel, as well as express my affection for him
and how much I miss him as a friend. I hope it proves a fitting
memorial to a marvellous human being, whose death was a gruesome
and terrible tragedy. It robbed us of much that cannot be
replaced.
Published by: Wirripang [979 0 720126 11 1] — 1 score 6p. -- A4 (portrait)) and 4 parts
Difficulty: Medium
Duration: 7 mins
Includes program note and biography of composer.
Typeset edition.
ISMN: 979 0 720126 11 1
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