Homeward

Revolution of Tenderness commissioned Homeward because we share a common hope with the composer, Richard Danielpour, that this piece of music will inspire convivial dialogue and promote lasting peace.

The world premiere of Richard Danielpour's "Homeward" begins right at the 27 minute mark. The entire concert is extraordinarily beautiful, so I recommend listening all the way through! That said, though, there are so many of us for whom the release of Danielpour's composition was the culmination of months and months of toil, desire, and LOVE, and the chance to hear this music, finally, is an infinite gift. Thank you, most especially, to the CMU philharmonic violins, violas, cellos, and contrabasses who played your glorious hearts out – with all your phenomenal talent, and the stupefying number of practice hours, and all the world-class training you've absorbed – together you have produced something that not one of you could have achieved on your own: a masterpiece... something out of this world. Thanks to your Maestro, Andrés Cárdenes, whose challenge and triumph was to bring out the best in you. But the greatest thanks goes to Richard Danielpour, who composed "Homeward" in isolation, though somehow was able to carry the whole human family in his heart such that this music can unite us and give us the certainty that none of us is alone. What a miracle.

Our imperfect and even failed attempts to respond to the pandemic have uncovered a cancer at the heart of our humanity. Meanwhile, civil unrest, radical failures of communication, and the impulse to accusation and resentment have given rise to violence. The internet, with its glittering promise of connection, seems only to have deepened and widened divisions among us. What can heal these lacerations? Who will bind up our wounds? Now is not the time for glib responses, or ideological formulas.

A single person, with one voice and two hands, must get to work. And another person will then join the first. One by one, we must each pay close attention to what’s happening in front of us, then roll up our sleeves and take the small, possible steps that Peace points out. This is how creativity and compassion work: Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible (St. Francis of Assisi).

Above all, remember: you are not alone.