
Elegy
$2.75
SATB with divisi & Soprano and Baritone soloists.
9:00
Note: This is a digital score (PDF).
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The Story
John and Mary Byun lost their unborn twin girls in October of 2003 at 26 weeks due to complications from twin to twin transfusion syndrome. For his performance at the 2020 ACDA Western Region Conference, John asked me to create a musical work to remember his daughters. This work explores a tradition called keening, found in numerous cultures around the globe, in which a mournful lament is sung as part of a ritual honoring those who have passed on before us.
Text
Elegy
You left the earth and sky weeping.
You left my mind and soul full of grief.
All beings mourn for you.
Oh Faith, oh Hope,
I weep, I mourn.
adapted from words by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
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