Healing

Program Note

Healing is a Suite in four movements for Violin and Piano. It was written between May 2020 and January 2021. The movements’ titles represent actions regarding feelings during the pandemic caused by COVID-19. The work is dedicated with much appreciation to costarrican pianist and dear friend Rebeca Ordóñez Rodríguez, who performed the world premiere with Venezuelan Violinist Johan Chapellín. 

In the middle of 2021, at the beginning of the quarantine, the mother of one of my piano students told me: “…we need music in our lives more than ever. We need to heal!.” Those words had a significant impact on me. As I thought about her words, I wrote this piece initially in just a single movement, but as the pandemic developed, I realized I had enough material to add the other three movements.

The four movements intend to be a musical oasis in this turbulent time. Every tension in the music found a way to be released and create a more reflective mood.

I. Healing

The music represents the beginning of the quarantine in New York. A tribute to all essential workers. And a kind of Requiem to those who, unfortunately, lose the battle to covid. The three chords at the beginning play an essential role in developing the whole work. 

II. Awaiting

This movement represents the anxiety created by the pandemic. In this movement, the tension and the repetition play an important role. As I turned on the TV every day, more information about the disease caused by COVID-19 was being presented. The music intensifies with each repetition until the climax. Toward the end, the main theme is repeated but with a more reflective mood.  

III. Mourning

As I was working on the second movement, my family lost an uncle due to COVID-19. All the material generated by the previous movement found another approach. This time with an air of resignation and with the style of a funeral march. This movement is the shortest, trying to represent how fast my uncle was buried. 

IV. Restoring
This movement is filled with energy. The music pretends to represent the idea of returning to our lives like the Phoenix with new energy but knowing that we will never forget. 

• Juan Guerra González