Isabella Rahme

This work was premiered at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Composers Concert “New Colours” in 2021. It was then workshopped by the JACK Quartet as part of JACK Studio in 2022.

“Threnody” is an emotional response to the explosion that occurred in the port of Beirut on the 4th of August 2020.

Rather than being a programmatic piece, the music exists as a reflection on the many stories and images that were shared following the tragedy, and chooses to focus on the smaller moments of ruin and loss, evoking such motifs of the city within the music. These include the broken glass of buildings, the difficult journeys to functioning hospitals, and the beautifully heartbreaking moments of humanity where neighbours saved each other’s lives.