Viola Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.1160860
Composed by Nick Norton. Chamber,Classical,Contemporary. Individual part. 3 pages. Bathysphere Music #761171. Published by Bathysphere Music (A0.1160860).
I wrote Elegy II almost immediately after the Isla Vista shootings in 2014. Many of my students and friends at UCSB were deeply affected, and some came quite close to being in the line of fire.
The piece reuses some melodic material from my first elegy, which I had written for my grandmother’s funeral a few years earlier. Both end on a picardy third. For the first elegy, I considered that a way of embracing a future influenced by the love for and memories of her. For this one, I’m not so sure. At best, it feels like an honest wish for healing. In the face of the daily murder of innocent people, it feels like a hollow gesture. In any case, if the piece brings someone some comfort, I am glad for that.
Elegy II was premiered by the violist Jordan Warmath at a concert at UCSB in memory of the victims. A violin version followed shortly thereafter, and then a video and recording performed by my friend Jonathan Morgan.
