Background Note

Caritas was written for Robert Caney’s father, David Caney. In meetings with Robert, his vision of his dad was full of caring nature, patient, warm-hearted, and that when it mattered most he was always, “just a dad.” He was an engineer and was extremely intelligent. David Caney was someone who you could engage with and learn from no matter who you were. Caritas comes from Latin, which translates to English meaning, “Love.” But not just love. It is the type of love that expresses affection, admiration, and honor to a person. I was commissioned to write this piece in memory of Robert’s father, who passed away due to a heart attack, and the family having to make the decision to bring him off life support.

Program Note

Caritas opens with the bass trombones! (or bass and 5th part tenor) The first section is entitled, It is Time To Play! symbolizing the “just a dad” trait David Caney was for his family. It is meant to get you off your feet and in the groove. With a Rossini crescendo style, the ensemble builds into the opening solo theme, representative of Robert’s character. The theme takes on subtitle variations and progresses to the next theme entitled, Warm-Hearted. This section represents David Caney. It is warm and full of spirit (harmony) that makes you smile. It is written in a chorus style that is meant to show the calming nature he had. The piece then moves back to a conversation between the two melodies showing growth and imitative behavior from each other. As the father teaches the son, so does the son teach his father. This interlude is a feature for the trombone choir to show off and play with each of the two characters. The fun only continues as it leads to the next section, Murmur. While at first, it does not sound bad, the further along the new converged theme gets, the more the music shifts as something isn’t right. The theme for this section is Robert's theme imitating his father's theme. It shows growth and adaptation as Robert is his own self but with his father's spirit and warm heart. However, as the music grows more weary and twisted, he resorts back to his original theme due to the fact that he is in Denial, which is the name of the next section. This has a pulsing heartbeat that progressively gets louder the soloist tries to ignore it - ultimately falling off and stumbling to play its true self. Once the heartbeat is too overbearing the music explodes and stops. Loss of a Father is David Caney’s theme without the melody. It is gentle and quiet; peaceful. The piece then goes into a loss of direction where Robert must ask himself, “Where Do I Go From Here?” The piece transitions between thoughts and ideas and finally finds sense in it all - opening to a beautiful ballade. However, the pain finally catches up and the piece erupts into Mourning - cries and grief fill the ensemble until finally the choir builds again and tells Robert’s theme, You Are Not Alone.