To Hope of Infinity…

To Hope of Infinity... is not a piece that I wrote, but one that I discovered. A colleague suggested that I compose a work featuring a chorale which I would write without hearing a note, so I let the music come to me in an inevitable and rather spiritual way. Upon hearing the finished chorale for the first time, I instantly knew what I wanted the premise of the piece to be. The melody evoked the nostalgia of old memories revisited with fondness at the end of one’s life—a reminder of the simple experiences that make each of us who we are.

Some people say that in the moments before we die, we can experience our lives again for a short time, as a recapitulation of all our most meaningful memories. When we live through such moments, we can only hope the most positive ones will last forever. But when we have exhausted our time here, it becomes clear that even these moments were never meant to last forever. Their mere existence, however, is what provides us meaning and purpose. However dark times may be, however often we may fall—when we look back on our lives, we will remember the times when our loved ones embraced us, when we did a good deed for a stranger, or when we achieved even the smallest of our wild dreams.

Composing this piece has reminded me of how much beauty there is in simplicity. I feel that its illustration of the arrival at our harmonious final rest can resonate with even those of us whose lives are just beginning. For our toils and hardships find their worth in those happy memories, and we often need a reminder of their humble significance. To Hope of Infinity... is a hymn to all the little moments that make life worth living.