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When David heard that Absalom was slain he went up to his chamber over the gate
and wept; and thus he said: O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!
Would God I had died for thee
O Absalom, my son, my son!

The text is from the King James Bible; II Samuel, 18:33

‘When David Heard’ takes as its text one single, devastating sentence from the King
James Bible. A popular choice from 16th century composers Thomas Tomkins and
Thomas Weelkes, right up to composers of today, the work explores the sense of
extreme grief felt so deeply by King David. In this setting, the initially quiet writing
passing between upper and lower voices resolves in a strong block of homophonic
writing on a repeated “Absalom”, the work closing with tenor solo and a solitary
soprano soloist on the final disbelieving “my son”.
Freddy Ireland-Rose, son of Helen Ireland and Gregory Rose, tragically died in
September 2024 at the age of 30. He was a talented composer of electronic tracks,
mainly for rappers, and fortunately left us with many of these tracks. I am using
small samples of these in my compositions dedicated to his memory, including a
Nunc Dimittis I composed for his funeral in October 2024.

Gregory Rose, 25.01.2025