Requiem by Joel St. Julien
We mourn
and there is only a cloud of unknowing
that is our only consolation.
In real-time corpses wash ashore and beat
from dance floors
exiting without elegance –
seized by that deafening pang –
all the while
memories flash before their eyes with no goodbyes, alone and silent – Bodies and more bodies
– queer, black, brown, Muslim, human -
These waves of powerlessness we ride –
these dark histories intersect into memorials until all is hopeless. Screens saturate us with the profane acts of cowardice and neglect - so what are we crying about anymore?
It keeps happening.
With alchemy, we offer all that we can, this space, our bodies, this sound. May the angels bring you home.
Tracklist
| 1. | Cloud of Unknowing | 5:25 |
| 2. | Exiting Without Elegance | 1:39 |
| 3. | That Deafening Pang | 3:26 |
| 4. | Waves of Powerlessness | 2:03 |
| 5. | That Deafening Pang Pt. 2 | 2:38 |
| 6. | Alchemy | 3:52 |
Credits
This piece was commissioned by RAWdance for the Yuerba Buena Gardens Festival ChoreoFest June 9 - 11. Thanks to Joel Tarman for mix consultation.
All music and text was composed, mixed and produced by Joel St. Julien in The Palace, San Francisco, CA.
License
All rights reserved.Tags
Joel St. Julien is a Haitian-American composer, musician, songwriter, and sound artist based in San Francisco. Joel has written music for documentaries, short / feature films, podcasts, and dance. He is a firm believer in experimentation/fusion with acoustic and electronic elements in sound oscillating through escapism and the mysticism of the present tense.