BURIAL RITES - Eugene Astapov

Premiered on April 23, 2023 by Esprit Orchestra with the composer conducting, Burial Rites is a work composed as a tribute, a dedication and a gift created in memory of a late student who passed on way too soon. Marcus Gibbons was an extraordinarily talented young man who I was blessed with teaching music for over 7 years. I met Marcus when he was just 10 years old and in a few short years he proved himself to be an extremely bright and gifted musician whose piano technique and deep understanding of music grew quickly beyond his young age. By the time Marcus turned 13, he was already learning some of the most difficult piano repertoire and imagining the day he would enroll into a music program to pursue his dream. Tragically, around the same time Marcus was struck with a horrible disease – a very rare form of cancer that only occurs in children, called Ewing’s sarcoma. It was a moment of painful anguish for Marcus, his family and those around him. In moments like this, it is very often difficult to find the right words to express the difficulty of the situation and with the present work I aim to do that, which cannot be verbally expressed.
This piece is multifaceted in the ways it tells its story. A lot of time ensued since Marcus’ passing in the late summer of 2020 and upon much reflection I decided to compose a work that not only would express the tragedy of the loss of Marcus and the devastation it brought upon the family and those close to him, but also a work that would celebrate his legacy and embody a positive, life-loving image that Marcus epitomized until the end, always carrying a stoic attitude and undaunted frame of mind. This is exactly why the ending of this piece is lively and celebratory – in part to pay tribute to Marcus’ heroism he maintained through all his suffering.
The piece is a mosaic of memories, a collection of mental photographs and impressions imprinted in my mind over the years of my interactions with Marcus and his family. It is a musical portrait of his courageous demeanour, strengths, his mischievous, yet deeply philosophical and empathic personality. It is also a selection of experiences, musically depicted, from the joyful beginning of Marcus’ studies with me to the very difficult ending.
The title of the work comes from the profoundly emotional experience I had during Marcus’ funeral. It was the first time I had attended such a solemn ceremony, with sorrowful emotions slowly drifting through the church with choking intensity – and with words once again running dry, I found that it was best to express my feelings through music. In Burial Rites these feelings are primarily present at the end of the second movement with its slow and desolate harmonic progressions accompanied by slow bursts of gongs and cymbals with the English Horn melody soaring above it all.
This piece is a commemoration of Marcus’ life and legacy. It is a musical monument created to celebrate and cherish the light he brought to this earth in the short 17 years he spent on it. The piece runs approximately 17 minutes in duration, with every minute of music celebrating each year of Marcus’ life.