On the Transmigration of Souls

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On the Transmigration of Souls, for orchestra, chorus, children’s choir and pre-recorded tape is a composition by composer John Adams commissioned by The New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center’s Great Performers (and an anonymous but well known New York family) shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The music was premiered by the New York Philharmonic on 19 September 2002 at Avery Fisher Hall. It is approximately 25 minutes long.

In an interview Adams explained: "I want to avoid words like 'requiem' or 'memorial' when describing this piece because they too easily suggest conventions that this piece doesn't share. If pressed, I'd probably call the piece a 'memory space.' It's a place where you can go and be alone with your thoughts and emotions. The link to a particular historical event - in this case to 9/11 - is there if you want to contemplate it. But I hope that the piece will summon human experience that goes beyond this particular event." ^[1]

The work is notable for containing texts from the countless "missing person" signs that became such a heartwrenching symbol of the events, which are both narrated and sung. The trumpet section in the middle section of the work is a quotation of Charles Ives's The Unanswered Question (1906) in which the trumpet asks "What is the meaning of life?" over the sound of the strings that represent eternity.

Adams received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in music for the piece. Its premier recording (with Lorin Maazel conducting the New York Philharmonic) received the 2005 Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album, Best Orchestral Performance, and Best Classical Contemporary Composition. Its sheet music is published by Boosey & Hawkes.