A Simple Secret

Year: 2019
Instrumentation: vln, vcl, pno
Duration: 5 minutes

Sheet Music

Score & parts available for rental here.

Program Notes

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
— The Fox to the Little Prince, Le Petit Prince (Antoine Saint-Exupery)

The two themes that are heard in this piece were adapted from my film score to Invisible Essence: The Little Prince, Charles Officer's gentle documentary about the man behind the novella. Both themes are lullabies of a sort: the first wide-eyed and child-like, with repeated notes caressed by an ascending major scale; and the second a yearning vocalise, characterized by a descending major scale that recalls Dorothy's vision of paradise in "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Here, the themes unfold within a new context: a kind of drawn-out pop song, where the themes function as verse and chorus to one another, although neither is repeated; the arrival of the chorus is simultaneously the piece's climax and its resolution. Throughout, the violin and cello act as partners who, like the Fox and the Little Prince, gradually 'tame' one another - exposing their vulnerabilities as a sacrifice to achieving the most profound of friendships.

This is fundamentally a simple piece, borne out of life's deepest pleasures: the laughter of children at play, a furtive glance between lovers, the reunion of long-lost family members, the interlocking hands of a couple that has grown old together. It is a tribute to what is precious, what is meaningful; or, as the character of the Fox so eloquently expresses to the Little Prince, what is essential. Antoine Saint-Exupery's well-known quote is a plea for us to look beyond the material, and to recognize that what matters most - our connection to one another - is indeed invisible, and can only be reached through the heart.

CD Release

Album Title: Under a Veil of Stars

Label and distribution: Leaf Music

Music by: Kevin Lau

Performed by: St. John-Mercer-Park Trio

Recorded, edited, and mixed: Norbert Kraft

Cover: Yesim Tossuner

Produced by: Rachel Mercer with support from FACTOR, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts

Available for streaming and purchase at: Leaf-music.ca

Performances

November 23, 2019 - Toronto Centre for the Arts.

September 24, 2023 - Heliconian Hall

Awards