Tears

Program Notes

Tears was composed in 2006 while I was a student at the University of Toronto, and at the height of my infatuation with the violin. In 2017 I revised it for the purposes of this recording, condensing it considerably and adding a new ending that I believe suits the narrative better. I am grateful to Marc Djokic for performing Tears for the first time and for bringing his uniquely stirring sensibility to this work.

In creating this piece I drew inspiration from Bach's Chaconne in D minor, whose dramatic three-part arc influenced the architecture and tonal centre of my own piece; as well as Berio's Sequenza VIII, whose searing narrative made a stunning impression on me as a student. My title is associated with the most intense of human feelings: the tears that fall when we are overcome by grief...or by joy. In this piece I have tried to depict both the physical aspect of tears - the cascading rivulets, the accompanying tremors and shudders of the body - as well as the emotional states that produce them.

CD Release

Title: Solo Seven

Label: ATMA Classique

Producing, Recording, Editing: Johanne Goyette

Original Music by: Murray Adaskin, Christos Hatzis, Vincent Ho, Kevin Lau, Richard Mascall, Matthias Maute, Ana Sokolovic

Performed by: Marc Djokic

Available for purchase at: amazon.ca

Performances

May, 2006 - Scott St. John, violin (recording only)

January 24, 2018 - Marc Djokic, violin. Schulich Hall, McGill University, Montreal

Audio

Awards

WINNER of the 2020 East Coast Music Association Award for Best Classical Recording