William Toutant
Remembrance
Duration: 9'
Instrumentation details:
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
Remembrance
Work introduction
In early 2019, my wife and I spent a month in Southeast Asia. While in Phnom Penh we visited the Tuol Sleng S-21 Genocide Museum where the Khmer Rouge imprisoned and tortured as many as 20,000 Cambodians. After being tortured at S-21, the victims were sent to the nearby Choeung Ek “killing field” for execution and burial in mass graves. After walking among the gravesites at Choeung Ek, we visited the Memorial Stupa. Behind the glass walls of this 17-story structure are visible the skulls of several thousand of the Khmer Rouge victims, organized by age and gender—all nameless. This piece is my reaction to these emotional experiences. Although the composition of Remembrance was stimulated by these experiences, it is meant to be a remembrance of all those who have suffered a similar fate.
What is necessary to perform this work?
String Quartet