Prayer for a Lost Friend (2021)
10mins
vln, pn
Commissioned by the Australian National Academy of Music as part of The ANAM Set.
Premiered 4 December 2021 by Emily Beauchamp (vln) and Leigh Harrold (pn.) at the Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne.
To the memory of Peter Garlick, for Emily Beauchamp
“Bereavement is a universal and integral part of our experience of love,” wrote C.S. Lewis. He was describing a paradox intrinsic to love, our most sacred and productive emotion.
It is a paradox our family is living through now due to the recent and abrupt death of our fourth child, Peter, in a rock-climbing accident. We deeply loved Peter, who was a teenager full of vitality, humour, faith and adventure, with a reputation for making connections wherever he went.
Although we feel outraged that earthly life inevitable goes on without Peter, we feel comfort and relief that his life still evokes responses like Alexander’s. Alexander carefully considered his own grief and his love for our family in creating Prayer for a Lost Friend.
Above all, we deeply yearn for life, love and music to go on in their finest forms and to transcend the grave into eternity – a hope that has inspired artists since the beginning of time.
Peter Jonathan Garlick16.05.02 – 10.04.21
Program notes by Sue Garlick, 15 August 2021, Brisbane.