Description: Based upon the birth of my brother's child, containment and release. Erisa was born three months premature, and spent the first three months of her life in an incubator at the NICU ward. Tension is built throughout the piece, and represents the yearning to physically touch the child, yet restricted by an incubator. The anticipation of the child's release from the incubator is apparent just before the quarter-rest grand pause... this pause represents physically holding Erisa. Note that the piece is written like a mirror, the beginning is the end (look at it in 8 bar phrases). This not only represents the good feeling of knowing he's having a child... then the good feeling that everything is fine now (the beginning and end--same melody) with difficulty and tension in the middle... but it also represents the things my brother may have thought of as he was going through this situation... the beginning: wanting a child, 2nd: realizing not being able to hold the child, 3rd: wondering what he could have done to have prevented this, 4th praying, then backwards praying, wondering what he is to do from now (acceptance, determination), holding the child, having the child. Of course, the melody is not exactly the same, both musically and programmatically wouldn't make sense. The timpani represents the heartbeat, and the suspended cymbal breathing (sometimes it's Erisa, sometimes it's my brother). I hope that this interpretation does not offend my brother, but actually, this is probably how I would have thought if I was in his shoes... I don't know if it's being conceited, but I still tear when I hear (or don't hear) the grand pause.
Composed: 1997
Length: 4'39
Difficulty: Medium
Instrumentation: Wind Ensemble
Sample: mp3
English
日本語
