By Anna Pidgorna | For Flute, Alto Saxophone, Cello, and Piano | 11′

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From the composer:

The terms “keening” refers to an old Irish tradition of lamenting the dead. The practice was meant to guide the departed safely into the next world, and to help the living express and process their grief. We can grieve a death of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, a medical diagnoses, a long distance move which separates us from those we love, or even our past selves. Grief contains a plethora of often conflicting emotional states such as anger, guilt, denial, devastating sadness, lethargic melancholy, emptiness. The pain of grief can ravage us for days, or sneak up on us in otherwise serene moments of reverie or in response to the most mundane activities. Relentless attacks of such violent emotions leave us in a state of severe of physical and mental exhaustion.

Commission/Dedication: Commissioned by UltraViolet with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Premiere: First performed March 24, 2019 at the Tim Ryan Theatre Lab, Allard Hall, MacEwan University by UltraViolet: Roger Admiral (piano), Chenoa Anderson (flute), Amy Nicholson (cello), and, Allison Balcetis (alto saxophone).
Recording: