THRENODY

Instrumentation: clarinet, viola, piano

Written for Yasmin Flores (cl), Stephen Fine (pf), and Ann DuHamel (pf) who premiered the work on October 23, 2016 at El Paso Community College

Threnody was written as a kind of personal exercise of both sympathy and faith — an expression of sympathy for the many victims of injustice in the world today, and an expression of faith in a God who cares deeply about justice. Sadly, there is no shortage of opportunities to lament injustices today, whether we think of the Tamir Rices of this world, the Orlando Pulse nightclub victims, or the Charleston church massacre victims. Listeners are invited to lament as they see fit. Musically, Threnody is essentially a funeral march during which the Lutheran funeral chorale "Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt" ("I have left all that concerns me up to God") appears at various moments, a chorale that is similarly woven into the fabric of Bach’s funeral BWV 106 Actus Tragicus cantata.