IN ABSENTIA (2009)
"In Absentia is an intensely personal work, music which soars to ecstatic highs, crashes on the rocks of sorrow, wanders in the desert of loneliness and frustration and eventually comes to rest in an oasis of calm resignation and acceptance. It's one of the best recordings I've heard in a long time.
-Bill Binkelman/Wind and Wire
Performed by the Kevin Keller Ensemble
“In February 2008, my father-in-law disappeared while on a hunting trip, and was never heard from again. Because he was never found, there were many questions left unanswered about what happened that day. His sudden absence, as well as the absence of information, was devastating.
Music has always been my therapy, and I often write music as a way of making sense of things in my life. In the aftermath of Jozef’s disappearance, I felt a strong need to create something that could express my emotions, as well as the emotions that I imagined he must have felt on that day. In my own way, I was looking for closure.
After a few months of writing and listening, it became very clear to me that this music could only come from a very pure, intuitive place, without pretense or artifice. Once I made a commitment to “pure expression”, the music began to flow, and most of the work was written during an intense, immersive 4 weeks.”
-Kevin Keller, 2009