A Thing So Human As Regret

for mixed chorus and four soloists (SATB). Text by Joaquin des Prez ('Mille Regretz') and Matthew Kennedy ABOUT THE WORK: Regret is an emotion we desperately try to avoid, though its presence in life is ubiquitous. Regret can be a cycle that is often difficult to overcome; a rut where we spin our figurative tires and lose traction. The fear of missing out, the fear of making the wrong choice, the wrong step: these can all cloud our judgment and stunt our forward motion. A Thing So Human As Regret takes the lion's share of its text from the French chanson Mille Regretz, believed to be written by 15th-16th century Franco-Flemish composer Josquin des Prez, obsessing over its repetition and wading through what could have went differently to avoid your remorse. We take final solace in the work by knowing what we are experiencing is one of the most universal of human emotions. In our grief we have stumbled upon community. A THING SO HUMAN AS REGRET was commissioned and premiered by the 2023-2024 Heidelberg University Concert Choir