Back in February I premiered a new version (clarinet and piano) of an older work from 2001 I composed titled Hymn to the Vanished (string orchestra) at Adelphi University where I am the clarinet instructor. I only recently received the recording of the concert in the mail. The original work was my response to the September 11th tragedies and was composed a few weeks afterwards. Soon after, the work received performances by both the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and S.O.N.Y.C. (String Orchestra of New York City) at Brooklyn College and Weill Recital Hall respectively.

Obviously I needed to make changes to the piece. Texturally the work is simple, the first violins played the melodic line now played by the clarinet sans some stratospheric notes, the double basses play a two-note figure throughout and the rest of the strings continuously sustain chords. The piano part consists of combining the chords and the two-note double bass figure with a minimal amount of adjustments to the original. The new version lacks the resonance of the original but gains an intimacy a string orchestra cannot capture.

This is a clip of the new version, myself on clarinet and Jad Bernardo, piano: