Farewell (grief cycles) - (2000) for violin (dbl. viola) and audio playback

Farewell... addresses the idea of traumatic loss. When dealing with loss, one can experience various and sometimes radically shifting emotional states. Quite simply, four emotional states are represented here through four different musical behaviors. At the beginning of the work these behaviors shift or blend very coarsely at first, as people sometimes experience shifting moods and emotions when grieving a loss. Through the four cyclical movements that structure the work, the musical behaviors intercut and combine at greater and more extreme degrees, to the point where elements of all four behaviors are compressed together to create “hybrid” behavioral states. I offer a metaphorical example: one could be laughing, then laughing nervously, then break into uncontrollable tears; one may wish to “talk about it,” yet not be able to find the words to describe the way he or she feels.
 
Farewell was composed for and is dedicated to Mark Menzies.