Lament

Difficulty: Medium Easy
Duration: approx. 3:55

Composed in 2013

Program Notes

     Attending high school is not the easiest of tasks for some people, myself being one of them. Each day, there was another task to complete, another fight to be fought, another friendship lost to a silly matter. It was easy to get swallowed up by the beast that was high school. Although I was not a string player, the orchestra teacher, Mr. Lawlor, seemed to understand me. He became a mentor throughout my high school years. Despite how I may have felt about myself on any given day, Mr. Lawlor had the highest level of confidence in me. He knew when I was having a rough day and would immediately call me into his office. He was a man that lived life to the fullest, and as if it were his last.
     Sadly, on December 23, 2005, he did live his last day when he lost his battle to stage 4 lung cancer. I did not have the opportunity to say goodbye when he passed away, but when the opportunity to perform in an alumni recital came up, I wrote this piece for solo piano.  When I decided to arrange this piece for an instrumental ensemble, it seemed fitting that it should be arranged for strings before any other setting.

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From the publisher:

     "Bradley Hartman's homage to his high school mentor is as heartfelt and sincere as it is reflective.  Its thoughtful string writing and light syncopation offer a challenge without being overwhelming for early-intermediate string ensembles."

Instrumentation