Solo: harp - Processional

Ensemble: arr. for solo harp

Duration: 3 minutes

Written for: Scott McCreary & Catherine Ricafort

Premiered: Littlefield, Brooklyn, New York

Note:

This piece has undergone many iterations: It was originally written as the bridal processional for the marriage of two of my oldest friends, but the first draft was rejected by both bride and groom for being unsettlingly dissonant. So I happily rewrote a version that suited the joyfulness of that occasion. A few years later, I was asked to contribute some works to my friend Chelsea Lane’s album Suspensions, and I was drawn back to the original, thornier version.

Weddings always strike me as a strange and beautiful piece of devised theater. Everyone in attendance is asked to buy into a shared story: the couple as main characters, their family and friends as supporting characters; the backdrop of tradition, religion, wealth; the endless line of ancestors who preceded them. On the part of the guests, there’s an eagerness to contribute to this play that fascinates and unsettles me. For some reason, as a community we need these shared stories, with their well-worn script, costumes, and predetermined roles. It doesn’t matter if they perfectly match reality: in fact they’re often meant not to.

As I’ve gotten older, I realize that at its core, that’s what art is striving to do, as well—to give us a story, to entertain, to make us feel things, to try to understand a more complex and frustratingly difficult reality. It makes sense that it took me a few tries to get this one right: It’s not absolute truth we’re looking for, it’s a good story.

I guess what it leads me to is: I’m sorry Scott and Catherine for putting too many minor seconds in your wedding processional. I love you both.