12 thoughts on “The Burden of Innocence”

  1. The sound of the Pipes always stirs me. The lament in your tune brought me to tears. Without words it expresses in the simplest and purest form the deep sadness we as a country and as human beings should feel at the loss of innocence in our children – whether it be by death or violent circumstances. Struggle no more for words – your tune says it all better than the frailties of human language ever could.

  2. It works…at a time of sadness and reflection the tune evokes emotions that probably need to surface.

    I am a fan of the Jeffers pipes.

  3. I thank you both. That the tune speaks to others is humbling.

    Keith Jeffers’ pipes have excellent tone and I’m glad to have picked them for this recording. The harmonics are just at the right frequencies to be tonally interesting without being a bear to tune.

  4. Patrick…job well done. I think you have created a piece that shows true emotion, passion and anger thusly asking the question from the heart…”WHY” !
    Your pipes are right one and as you play you get a feeling of the pipes singing in a celtic weil, a song of heartbrake.
    I will enjoy learning this and do hope that on 12/14 each year I will play this to honor those poor dear little souls until I can no longer play my pipes.
    Thanks for sharing the tune and the PDF.
    Mike

  6. Well done Patrick.
    Such sad days.
    If only more people could work through the strife and pain in their lives by picking up a musical instrument instead of by taking up the gun.

  8. I saw a sculpture called the angels cried. It felt so authentic for the time we’re in. So did your piece. Thank you!

  9. Patrick, a worthy lament. Ending on a major note rather than a minor reminded me of the ray of hope that exists for all who have died. Truly tragic especially during the time of year we celebrate our Savior’s birth. Love to you and your family.

  10. Mike, Janette, Sean, David, Barbara, and Braxton: Thank you all. Sean, yes.

    Braxton, the D at the end of the parts just sort of fell out. I’ve been shy about telling what the tune means to me, as it was all derived after I wrote it, but here goes. The first bar introduces the tragedy. The remaining three bars of the first line represent three different ways of grieving, or the process of grieving. The second line is the continuation of mourning, but at the end there is hope as you say; coincidentally I think it sounds a lot like the ending of Amazing Grace. The low G grace note to low A as the pickup represents the finality of death with the 3rd line representing the lives that must carry on. Finally the 4th line is remembering those who we have lost, most likely on a daily basis, but ending with hope. That’s my interpretation of course. As with all artistic renderings, that interpretation is subject to the listener and time.

  11. Stirring. It brings to mind “The Bells of Dunblane,” but yours definitely does end on a bit of a higher note.

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