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The weight of your absence, for soprano and viola (2019)

Music written by Daniel Despins, text written by Grey Grant.

Recorded by Abigail Head (soprano) and Jonathan Milord (viola) at the Peabody Institute on March 7-8, 2020.

 

Mixed and mastered by Alex Pinkus.

A few months before this piece was conceived, a close friend of mine lost her aunt to cancer. This event, and the emotional aftermath that followed, led me to realize that I never fully processed the grief of losing two of my own grandparents, ten years earlier. This eventually led to an intense self-analysis of how I deal with loss in general.

In the midst of this emotional turbulence, The weight of your absence came into existence. The text, written by fellow composer, poet, and friend Grey Grant, tells the story of a woman, grieving over the recent loss of her partner, and of all the various emotions that arise through the process of grieving. The loss of a loved one is often something that can take years to heal, but I hope that this woman, and anyone listening who may currently be in mourning, can find some hope and light at the end of this incredibly dark tunnel."

(October 2019)

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