your dazzling death

your dazzling death is set to a poem of the same name by Cass Donish. When I first encountered it, I was struck by the beauty and the violence in the language - like a trainwreck you cannot look away from.

For years, I marked Poppy's anniversary by sitting at the piano and working through a piece of music that gave me solace. The endless hours of practicing became a meditation, a way to think of her without being overtaken by sadness. A few months ago, when I made the transition from pianist to composer, I needed a different way to grieve. Then, an opportunity came to set a piece of text to music for a premiere near her anniversary. I knew I would set this poem in her memory.

The process of setting this poem has been challenging but revelatory. Weighing each word, sitting with each image, reading interviews with Cass and hearing their perspective on their own loss offered me a different vantage point on my own. My hope is that this setting does the same for you.

I am deeply grateful to Cass Donish for the generosity and warmth with which they welcomed this project.