Featured on the recording Aegean Counterpoint. Click HERE for more info.
Duration: 11'30"
Mnimosinon, was completed in 1989 near the anniversary of my father's passing and received its premiere by a student ensemble at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1990. The title is taken from the name of a Greek Orthodox Church memorial service that commemorates the anniversary of a parishioner's passing. The piece has three sections, the first features two long introspective cadenzas by the clarinet and the cello respectively. This section is reflective of great and personal loss. The second section, lighter and more joyous in character, is a celebration of my father’s life. A quote from the final byzantine hymn chanted at a mnimosinon, "May his memory be eternal" is featured in the third section of the piece. The chant quotation appears in the cello and in an off-stage clarinet while the on-stage clarinet holds a drone. This final section of the work is intended to reflect the union, through prayer, of the Church Militant (that is, those alive on this earth) and the Church Triumphant (those who have passed on). Also, because my father was a clarinetist (as am I), the use of these instruments at the end of the work, separated by physical space, is a very personal response to his passing.