Goodbye

Goodbye is an expression used when departing from something or someone. This piece quite literally evolved from a difficult goodbye I had to give at the start of the year. The music came to me after I got rid of final reminders of these old friends. There was a part of me afraid of what this would mean, or to actually accept the end but eventually I had to. This tone poem is the direct result of that emotional outpour. This music rose within me very quickly, originally intending to write for another work, these 34 measures came to my soul during one of my sessions. The whole thing is no more and no less than 34 bars. I tried to make this fit into the other work, but it wouldn’t. After I listened back to the piano recording I had made I realized that this was its own stand-alone message. Goodbye didn’t make sense until it was alone. This piece requires a mass amount of care and musicianship from any performer and any quartet. The music is a beautiful tragedy, depicting grief from loss and the somber feeling of reflection on what was. The music always has a darkness around it, waiting for the light to come back. This music finally allowed me to say goodbye. - Daniel Perzan 2026 0:00 Speech 1:05 Performance Goodbye was completed January 18, 2026 in Waco, Texas. Goodbye was performed May 2, 2026 in Waco, Texas by: Soprano: Hilton Bryce Alto: Brady Parker Tenor: Anderson Gillett Bari: Chris Contreras