Distanced

elegy for vln, vln, vla, vcl, db string quintet
ca. 8’00”

Distanced (2020), an elegy for string quintet, was written in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic—for many, a time of physical and mental separation from friends and family; never before did we take being hugged and comforted by a loved one for granted so much. It has also been a time of distress at and resentment towards just how many of the pandemic’s moving parts we cannot control: how people around us act, how governments and international organizations respond, whether people we know and care about get infected or not, how long schools and businesses will be closed down... this is such a novel experience on a global scale, and its unpredictability has forced all of us to realize how truly dependent we are on one another. For many, it has also been a time of introspection and revision—with everything put into perspective, we can take a true look at our priorities and reassess our ways of thinking, feeling, and living.

This elegy was, for me, an outpouring of sadness and frustration, written for anyone who had to go through the experience of being distanced from those closest to them. The brooding harmony of the piece reflects our separation and, in a fleeting moment of brightness, our hopeful union. Distanced also shows this more literally in its structure—it starts out in unison and slowly diverges into seconds, thirds, and so forth until the climax of the piece, full of anguish, wails in dissonant sevenths. We then, having changed from living through this experience, slowly work our way back to our starting point, the unison.

Distanced was commissioned by Fresh Inc through the Steven R. Gerber Trust and was written for Ava Shadmani, violin I; Amalia Young, violin II; Sixto Franco, viola; John Rogler, cello; and Alex Goodin, double bass.

Performances:

21 Jun 2020 (world premiere)
Fresh Inc Festival 2020: Final Performance
Livestreamed concert on YouTube and Facebook
Ava Shadmani, violin I; Amalia Young, violin II; Sixto Franco, viola; John Rogler, cello; Alex Goodin, double bass
Tech: Donovan Seidle