On Sunday April 28, 1996, at the Port Arthur Historical Site in Tasmania, Australia, a young man with a gun killed 35 people. Within the work is a cello melody that is a "setting" of Psalm 23 ("The Lord is My Shepherd"), which was read at the memorial service for the Port Arthur victims.
This work was written in May 1996, not long after the memorial service for the victims of the Port Arthur massacre. It is less a direct response to this particular event than an attempt to capture the feeling of immense sadness present at this – and indeed, every other –funeral service.
