Saucerful of Memories (2023)
For harp solo, string orchestra and French Horn obbligato
Music: Gilad Cohen
Sivan Magen, harp
Benjamin Hochman, conductor
Roosevelt Island Orchestra
Katie Jordan, French horn obbligato
Recorded live at Roosevelt Island Concerts, April 6 2024
Audio and video: Ian Striedter and Zachary Travis
The piece was commissioned by the Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund for Sivan Magen, with additional support from the American Harp Society.
www.giladcohen.com
Like many people, I often find myself struggling with letting go of the past. Past events-and, more importantly, their emotional baggage-can linger with us for a lifetime, coloring our actions, reactions, and the way we experience life. In Saucerful of Memories, all four movements portray strong emotions that memories can bring up-namely anger, longing, shame, and helplessness. Like such old memories, which float back and blind our judgement with their poisonous power, this piece is saturated with ascending melodies that seem to crawl up from the depths of our psyche. As a way to cope better with these memories and their impact, I envision a vessel in a remote room, one that could keep them away from day to day life and weaken their power, but, when the need arises, will still allow observing them from a healthy distance and learning from them. The piece ends with a descent into nothing, allowing the hard emotions to submerge and come to a rest in a saucerful of memories.