Now playing: Carlos Simon: "Songs of Separation" Movement 1 (The Garden) | National Symphony Orchestra by The Kennedy Center. Paused, Muted
Carlos Simon: "Songs of Separation" Movement 1 (The Garden) | National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda leads the National Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere of Carlos Simon's "Songs of Separation," featuring Grammy-Award-winning J'Nai Bridges.
Performed live in the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall on April 23, 2023.
- The Garden
Your Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom. But listen to me: for one moment, quit being sad. Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you. What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.
Composer's Note:
- We all, as humans, experience separation in a variety of forms. Whether it be through the death of a loved one, a break-up, a divorce or a permanent relocation from family and friends, a parting of ways is a part of life for us all.
- To illustrate this musically, I chose to use the timeless words of the 13th century Persian poet, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī to convey this inevitable human experience.
- Each of the four movements depict moments of grief, sorrow as well hope and encouragement. Rūmī reminds us through his words that “What hurts you, also blesses you.”
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