Rest is a string orchestra adaptation of the composer's work for SATB chorus, There Will Be Rest, commissioned in 1999 by the Pacific Chorale. Almost everything is preserved from the original, including harmony, dynamics, and the original registration. Care was taken to carefully preserve the fragile beauty and quiet dignity suggested by Sara Teasdale's words. The work is dedicated to the memory of Cole Carsan St. Clair, the son of the composer's dear friends, conductor Carl St. Clair and his wife, Susan.