I've always loved the peacefulness of cemeteries. German ones are the best, always green and beautiful. The word Fried of course means "peace", and that is what I find there.
I heard a robin singing in a cemetery in December 2009. Somehow the beauty of its song, in that cold but tranquil place, gave me what I needed to start writing a piece that I knew wouldn't be completed until after my mother had died.
The first movement is marked Andante non tranquillo. The walker's steps are hesitant, a bit anxious, certainly not at peace. Occasionally a bird comments. At the center of the movement, flute and harp lead our thoughts far away. We come back to the cemetery, but we've been changed.
The cello leads us through the Cantabile middle movement, where we come closest to expressing grief. Alto flute lends a calming influence at the movement's center.
The third movement is the truest picture of my mother. She hated sadness. She loved joy, and asked that we sing Beethoven's Ode to Joy at her memorial service. Vivace could be interpreted as "living" as well as "lively", and seems the most fitting sort of ending for a piece about my mother. The harp, which throughout the movement plays a puckish role, spurring the others on to higher levels of energy, has the center of the movement to itself.