Who's Online
Invisible Members: 4 Visitors: 42
Past 7 Days
Song Uploads: 153
Song Votes: 373
Song Comments: 1489
Forum Posts: 320
New Members: 67
Participation Points: 6174.10
|
Get Flash to see this player.
Having playback trouble, try the Quicktime player:
  
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial
|
|
|
|
|
Description:
Lamentations was composed during the fall of 2002. It is loosely based on the old testament book of the same name (called Eichah in the Torah), whose writer is Jeremiah, in anguish over the complete destruction of Jerusalem (including its temple and most of its inhabitants) in 586 B. C. (about 3176 in the Hebrew calendar). I was moved both by the poetry and by contemporary events in the Middle East to compose a setting for solo cello for my friend and former colleague, Thomas Loewenheim.
The structure is sectional, and each section connects with the next. Section titles (except those marked Remembrance) are drawn from lines of the biblical poetry, as follows:
1. “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people!”
2. Remembrance.
3. “All the splendor has gone…”
4. “All her doorways are empty… and she is in bitter anguish.”
5. Brief remembrance.
6. “Amongst all her lovers there is none to comfort her.”
7. “My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.”
8. “He has burned in Jacob like a fire that consumes everything.”
9. Remembrance.
10. “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people.”
|
Clark... it's like free school &mdash 07/19/07 - 08:07:07 PM
for me... It was very important to keep track as I listened along, to give each section it's context... very moving.. some events in history we can gloss over... never realising that we are overlooking individuals' personal tragedy... this made it personal for me.. it put a face on it...
I love the judicious use of space... desolate
and about halfway through, I realized that this is quite a cellist
[ Reply to This ]
thanks &mdash 07/21/07 - 06:16:58 AM
Thanks Scott. Your comments always mean a lot to me. "Lamentations" is an expression of Jeremiah's anguish over the destruction of Jerusalem and its inhabitants 2500 years ago, but it could also be an expression of the anguish humans have felt for millenia over hundreds of similar atrocities, including contemporary conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. Like most people, I learn about these things by watching the news, and it periodically gets me really down, not knowing what I can do about it. Trying to pour some of these emotions into a solo cello piece achieves absolutely nothing in the big picture, but it was at least somewhat cathartic for me. Thanks again. --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
Powerful in its simplicity &mdash 07/20/07 - 12:17:56 AM
And I am only referring to the fact that you can tell a whole story with only one single instrument, not the composition, which like most of your work would take me months and years to fully understand:) I love that you rarely resort to dissonances to emphasize the tragic atmosphere, and when you do, it finds the right time and space in the mourning, hopelessly hopeful voice of the cello. I could hear the same personal, intimate quality Scott mentions in your music. Personally I find it very important to be able to connect musically and emotionally with a composition, and you make it easy by providing a variety of colors and nuances, unexpected at times, but flowing along with determination never losing intensity or focus. And yes, the cello player does give an amazing performance full of technical virtuosity, character and depth - qualities your music has in abundance. [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 07/22/07 - 04:13:08 PM
Thanks very much for such a thoughtful comment! You wrote that I 'rarely resort to dissonances to emphasize the tragic atmosphere,' and I am thrilled that you hear it that way. I guess the way I hear it, though, is that this actually has a fair amount of dissonance, but I tried to resolve them in ways that made musical sense (to me, at least).
Thanks again1 --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
Moving and sorrowful... &mdash 07/20/07 - 12:54:10 AM
A true Lamentation....the Pizzicato adds variety to the crying Cello...Beautiful..... [ Reply to This ]
thanks &mdash 07/24/07 - 08:51:14 AM
Thanks very much, Enrique. I'm glad you liked it! You write very beautiful music. --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
So.. &mdash 07/20/07 - 04:57:53 AM
descriptive and wonderfully played. for one instrument to capture all that emotion is very impressive, M [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 07/24/07 - 08:55:52 AM
Thanks very much, Maurice. I really appreciate your comment, and I just left one for your latest. Cheers! --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
the instrument speaks &mdash 07/20/07 - 07:24:09 AM
Superb... I am taken that you can compose something that has the cello actually talking to me, telling the story, lamenting, connoting anguish and anger and frustration... and of course, the cellist managed to not only play the piece, but convey this as well... Bravo! I am in a bit of awe.
ttfn,
Drakonis [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 07/24/07 - 09:02:50 AM
Thanks very much, Eduard. For me the cello is amongst the most expressive of instruments, so it seemed a natural choice for something like this. And I was hugely grateful to the cellist for spending so much time getting to know this piece, for consequently playing it with such a sense of conviction and personal connection. --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
I was going to cry... &mdash 07/20/07 - 07:51:08 AM
...because it just wouldn't be right for a computer program to be able to duplicate a cello like that.
Then I heard the very welcome sound of the bow wood during the arpeggios. Ahhhh...all is still right with the world (for now).
The piece is fantastic, Clark. I absolutely love the cello. Please pass on my extreme high praise to the cellist (name?). Excellent playing. [ Reply to This ]
thanks &mdash 07/24/07 - 09:06:28 AM
Thanks very much, Bob, and I will pass along your compliments to Thomas Loewenheim, the cellist (who I credited in the song description).
If you could do this sort of thing with samples, well that would be scary!
I really appreciate your comment. --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
Lamentations &mdash 07/20/07 - 11:10:08 AM
"deep" ...I was searching to the word to describe
this piece ..I only find "deep" ..it speak so
bitterly with anger ..total Impression . !
the theme of horses slaughtering the scene is
just there ..this is genious Clark ..! [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 07/24/07 - 09:10:25 AM
Thank you very much, Feter. You always write so eloquently and with such passion, and I am really appreciate that you took the time to listen and leave such a great comment.
I hope all is okay with you and your loved ones? --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
No short hand sentimentally here. &mdash 07/20/07 - 11:41:38 AM
This is a work of anguish and turmoil.
At times I could hear such desperation that gave me chills. It's both bleak and deeply touching.
It's good to hear more recent work from you Clark. Please pass on kudos to the cellist who so eloquently gave voice to your wonderful music.
[ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 07/31/07 - 04:30:56 AM
Thanks very much, Charles. I'm glad it spoke to you, and I really appreciate your comment. Looking forward to your next track! --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
Mr. Clark .. i forget all the words that i was going to say .. so i'm speechless on this comment &mdash 07/20/07 - 12:21:58 PM
Mr. Clark .. this one is not just beautiful ..
More than great .. just brilliant and as Feter said "DEEP" ..
I download this one to hear it .. because my internet is to bad for loading this one .. specially i was surprised that it's 9:03 min. so it's too long ..
I'm glad to have such a piece in my PC ..
Really great and great AND GREAT .. very good working and i think you spent a lot of time doing this UNFORGETTABLE one ..
I really liked its INTRO .. loved it ..
but overall rating is : AMAZING
I was thinking is that a HARP .. between the cello playing ..
just pass me a word to the cellist : "THANK YOU" ..
Thank You is the word that i always say it .. if you noticed that i used it in all my comments ..
Tell Him "THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT & UNFORGETTABLE PLAYING" ..
Also i was thinking of adding some GUITAR picking on this one ..
thank you for this piece .. Mr. Clark .. i'm really speechless .. really GREAT piece ..
Keep up the greatest work that you show ..
Regardz
==============
Yeman Auf Al-Rawi
P.S : I've just post a new song .. wish you hear it ..
I'm really in need to hear your opinion ..
I REMEMBER : http://www.macjams.com/song/33577 [ Reply to This ]
Thank You &mdash 07/31/07 - 04:55:24 AM
Thanks so much for your kind and generous comment, Mr. Birdman! I am very touched by it, and I just left a comment for your latest song. --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
emotive &mdash 07/20/07 - 01:09:13 PM
playing......such great use of silence,rest........ the more intense bowing was a surprising changeup..........very interesting piece.... i still hear the influence of early to mid 20th century composing techniques and sonoroties...... a favorite era of mine.....many bows..... [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 07/31/07 - 05:01:09 AM
Thanks very much, McB. It's always a treat to read your thoughts. I'm never sure where my musicI fits stylistically, so it's interesting that you hear this as being related to early-mid 20th-century music... you've got me thinking now. --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
This is a deep and beautiful composition... &mdash 07/20/07 - 08:12:53 PM
...that seems to my uneducated ears to step past the expectations of "old" classical music and the expectations and perhaps affections of "modern" classical music, and just goes as deep into being heartfelt and intelligent music as it can go...
Then on top of that, this is a phenomenal recording. Plenty of air and space, and yet a sense of immediacy and intimacy... you can hear wood, slaps, bowing, fingering, page turning... it's right there...
And that, of course, highlights the astonishing technique on evidence...
What a musician!
What a composer!
Dude!
Ed [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 07/31/07 - 05:47:32 AM
I am always deeply moved and appreciative of your comments, Ed. Thank you! --- ClarkRoss.ca has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
Forgive me... &mdash 07/20/07 - 08:15:53 PM
I'm at the end of a long day...
I just want to say that the thing I didn't address up above is what Scott and others have pointed out: the emotional connection to what Lamentations is about...
Ed [ Reply to This ]
Expressive! &mdash 07/20/07 - 09:41:31 PM
I was curious when I saw the title, since not too long I ago I played the Lamentations of Jeremiah by Thomas Tallis in concert, performed by five piece recorder consort. And yes, your lamentations are the Jeremiah ones. Though obviously the couple of centuries in between Tallis and Ross would make a bit of difference.
The big surprise for me was that you scored it for a solo instrument, but then, a cello is a very expressive and sonorous instrument.
How would you describe your idiom? Free atonality? Free tonality? I like the freedoms you take, while still retaining singable hooks. Bit like the later Bartok string quartets.
Very good stuff. And as always, it's good to hear (moderately) long form compositions on this site.
Victor.
PS this track (by me in previous incarnation) might amuse you: http://www.macjams.com/song/5411 [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 07/21/07 - 06:12:22 AM
Thanks Scott. Your comments always mean a lot to me. "Lamentations" is an expression of Jeremiah's anguish over the destruction of Jerusalem and its inhabitants 2500 years ago, but it could also be an expression of the anguish humans have felt for millenia over hundreds of similar atrocities, including contemporary conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. Like most people, I learn about these things by watching the news, and it periodically gets me really down, not knowing what I can do about it. Trying to pour some of these emotions into a solo cello piece achieves absolutely nothing in the big picture, but it was at least somewhat cathartic for me. Thanks again. [ Reply to This ]
oops &mdash 07/21/07 - 06:15:20 AM
(I meant to put my reply to Scott below his comment above; sorry!)
---
<a style="color:blue;font-size:11px;" href="http://www.clarkross.ca">ClarkRoss.ca </a> has recordings and scores for almost everything I have written. [ Reply to This ]
Moving story &mdash 07/21/07 - 06:58:45 AM
The cello playing alone gives a simplicity that makes mood that you set even more involving. I am reminded of the scene from band of brothers where the string quartet is playing String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131 ( I think) in the middle of the devistation of the city. So lonley and needy among such devistation. [ Reply to This ]
Thrid time &mdash 07/21/07 - 08:02:41 AM
This is my third time revisiting this. I am impressed by the composition and the excellent tone of the cello. Very evocative music. Thanks. [ Reply to This ]
Jeremiah was no bullfrog... &mdash 07/21/07 - 09:04:45 AM
Clark, this composition runs so contrary to my *Pop* sensibilities that it's almost ridiculous.
But that's what I love about music... it has so many different possibilities.
This somber musical mosaic explores --- and captures --- so many different emotional circumstances and feelings in such a profoundly communicative way that praises both performer and author... stunning.
It is a musical thread that attaches our own realities today to those of our forebears more than two thousand years ago. It is a sad irony, indeed, that such circumstantial parallels can still persist.
--- Joe
--- Joe [ Reply to This ]
Sometimes... &mdash 07/21/07 - 11:42:13 AM
music transcends words - this is one of those times. Thank you.
Cheers
Len
---
lengold is the new pianoman1 [ Reply to This ]
Hey Clark &mdash 07/21/07 - 10:44:56 PM
Music For Our Souls &mdash 07/21/07 - 11:25:14 PM
When suffering is all around, it is (at the same time) is a very personal and singular experience, isn't it?
You've succeeded in conveying the experience musically by your choice of a solo performance as opposed to an ensemble arrangement.
Hats off to the soloist and thank you for a most powerful piece of music. [ Reply to This ]
you know stuff &mdash 07/22/07 - 08:01:33 PM
my understatement of the year. Your compostions always leave me impressed and wishing I had studied music instead of the cubicle. Your attention to detail shapes the individual pieces with emotion and nuance.I also wish i had your patience..I tend to be so groove based in my thinking it would preclude a beautifully haunting collection such as this. Now you may just have inspired me to do something completely different in approach. Thank you Clark.
[ Reply to This ]
I adore &mdash 07/23/07 - 12:51:07 PM
how beautiful and moving... and what a performance by Mr Loewenheim (i was hoping to find him back amongst your myspace friends, but no result). I dare not think how difficult it must be to write as well as perform such a piece of art. My wife caught me listening with my mouth open (very confronting:) This is the music i adore. Period.
- walter [ Reply to This ]
unbelievable &mdash 07/24/07 - 01:45:29 PM
I just listened to this twice in a row,and I am pretty much speechless.
There's a big difference between someone who knows how to compose(Knows all the theory,etc.)and someone who actually composes.You are a true composer.
Very moving. [ Reply to This ]
Humbling &mdash 07/25/07 - 11:59:30 AM
Lining up your great skill as a composer with the formidable ability of your cellist, Mr. Loewenheim, has yielded another wonderful gem for this community. You are stretching the listening range and enjoyment level of this site, and as an educator, this must please you...
It's just great you participate here, Clark. [ Reply to This ]
subliminal &mdash 07/26/07 - 01:40:55 AM
this truly is an achievement involving tremendous amount of consideration, determination and dedication within its huge process..
though it's too big for me to wholly comprehend, i enjoyed this work's shining, brooding qualities.
the sorrowful anguish crafted into minimal, effective lines left me moody and enchanted for a while!
thanks always for sharing!
hoooon [ Reply to This ]
goodness &mdash 07/26/07 - 11:09:48 AM
What a dynamic composition. It really covers the gamut of the emotional range of both the human condition and the instrument itself -- and I believe that equals success. Truly astonishing string-work -- doublestops, harmonics, pizzicato, staccato, the arpeggio runs... good grief, what brilliance! [ Reply to This ]
Moving &mdash 07/28/07 - 10:12:49 PM
Clark, this is a moving piece. You could imagine a Biblical epic movie, featuring Jeremiah walking through the desert, looking Heavenward, while this music is playing.
The performer is quite accomplished. I am impressed. He 'owns' this piece, and communicates it as his own.
Excellent post, Clark. [ Reply to This ]
Ugh! I love cello! &mdash 08/24/07 - 01:38:13 PM
Your friend is an astounding player and your writing for the instrument is lively with a variety of techniques that bring out the many voices it offers.
The melodies have just a few references to Eastern/Judaic music that occasionally invoke the culture. Its a nice nuance yet allows the piece to emphasize the psychological importance of the events over the literal historical reference. The allegro section is viscious enough that I'd like to transcribe it for uber-distorted electric guitar. The movements are each very emotional and faithfully echo the sentiments of the titles. Really lovely! [ Reply to This ]
Lamentations &mdash 09/11/07 - 11:53:54 PM
Beautifully written and performed.
(I look fwd to the day when history has a new and original chapter instead of repeating the same old stories.) [ Reply to This ]
Soulful &mdash 10/29/07 - 01:55:06 PM
and moving. Beautifully written and exquisitely played.
Thanks so much!
Doug [ Reply to This ]
Lamentations &mdash 03/11/08 - 03:14:57 PM
wow - I'm just starting to go through your catalog - this cellist is amazing - oh to be able to get such FEELING out of any instrument is such a gift (for us all1). Your work throughout is magnificent - I'm amazed at your compositional talent here - I don't know if you'll ever see this comment to know how much I'm admiring your musicianship. thanks [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 03/22/08 - 09:24:59 AM
Thanks very much for the very kind comment, Karen. Although I am not nearly as active at MacJams as I used to be (I was formerly a 600+ points a week guy... yikes!), I do stop by from time to time to try to catch up a bit with what's been going on, and I read all comments left for any of my pieces. I see that with this piece I have not been acknowledging comments, though, and I apologize to all for that. When acknowledging a comment I try to also respond in kind (i.e., leave a comment for a composition by whomever commented on mine), and at some point I obviously got overwhelmed by it all and was no longer able to keep it up... but I'll try to catch up and repay my karmic debt to society, starting with you! Thanks again. [ Reply to This ]
Lamentations. &mdash 04/24/08 - 10:33:13 AM
Hi This sounds absolutly stunning wonderful production. blew my mind
Loved it.
I will be downloading this as all yours for another listen and another listen, I love your music also.
Peace Dee xx [ Reply to This ]
Deep! &mdash 04/24/08 - 03:20:21 PM
I guess that my comment above was a mess! But I just wanted to say this again "Thank you" for all the beautiful work you do here and Kudos for the cellist.
This is another masterpiece from you (and still "deep" one!).
Take Care
- Yeman A. Al-Rawi [ Reply to This ]
|
|
Friends
iLounge - All things iPod, iTunes and beyond
|
Dish Network - the dish
network limited time bonus offers - get all three
|
|
I love the judicious use of space... desolate
and about halfway through, I realized that this is quite a cellist
[ Reply to This ]