The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: Exulansis

The Concept for this piece…

Comes from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a collection of words invented by John Koenig that “aims to fill a hole in the [English] language—to give a name to emotions we all might experience but don’t yet have a word for.” The title for this piece comes from Koenig’s blog definition for “exulansis.”

exulansis
n. the tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it—whether through envy or pity or simple foreignness—which allows it to drift away from the rest of your life story, until the memory itself feels out of place, almost mythical, wandering restlessly in the fog, no longer even looking for a place to land. www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com

Audio available at bandcamp.com
Sheet music available at my store

Credits
released September 27, 2024
Composed by Annika Socolofsky
Performed by Chris Sies
Recorded by David Newton & Jameson Eisele at Slypup Productions
Mixed by Alex Dowling

Commissioned by the New Works Project and a consortium of percussionists: Aaron Butler, Adam Groh, Alex Alfaro, Alexandros Fragiskatos, Brianna Trainor, Chris Sies, Christian Kuhlman, Daniel Pate, Danielle Moreau, Dave Hall, Esteban Ganem, Filament Duo: DeLane Doyle and Aaron Gochberg, Jamey Kollar, Joe Millea, JR Alberto, Left Edge Percussion: Terry Longshore, McKayla Phillips, Nicholas Hall, Prism Percussion: Divesh Karamchandani and Elizabeth Hall, and Scott Farkas