Remembering David Darling

Thank you for your interest and subscription to the David Darling newsletter.

Over a span of 40+ years I worked with David as a producer and collaborator on many projects. His creativity was a musical elixir that could add magic to any project. David’s ability to add depth and understanding to language brought new life to selected works of authors—Barry Lopez, Terry Tempest Williams, Coleman Barks and Ginny Jordan. His ability to improvise in unfamiliar landscapes was a constant as he found ways to recognize the essence of the situation. Though it could take many forms, his message was one of love.

David earnestly desired a world without war. He used a quote from the Dalai Lama stating that war is out of date when naming his composition, "War Is Outdated." During his Grammy acceptance speech, David also included a dedication to activist Howard Zinn.

Today, January 8th, is the first anniversary of his passing. I am still trying to find ways to honor and celebrate his life while grieving the loss of a dear friend. Some days I am better at it than others.

On many days something will trigger a memory or cause me to want to call him to share the thoughts and emotions. One of those memories was a week we spent in California with Joseph Campbell and Chungliang Al Huang in a workshop. One night Joseph presented a slideshow of Picasso’s work while David improvised a soundtrack. The images, David’s music, and Joseph's narration would normally have left me in a state of awe, well it did actually, but by then I was starting to get used to the idea that whenever David picked up his cello, something out of the ordinary was about to happen. Recently I watched a clip that brought back memories of our time with Joseph. It is from the Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth series with Bill Moyers, and in it Joseph shares his worldly understanding of cycles and the symbology of the circle.
You can watch this clip here.

David’s own exploration of cycles and circles was expressed in his composition, "Cycles," from his album of the same name. He returned to this theme on the album Prayer for Compassion as the piece "Heaven Here On Earth." In this looking back and looking forward time of year, I am sharing this piece with you through Bandcamp; there is no cost.

Although you may already have this in your collection, I encourage you to re-listen and re-imagine what Heaven Here on Earth could be.

The continued experience of awe that I mentioned has become one of reverence; to find ourselves opening to the beauty inherent in each moment.

I have completed a new collection of David’s music. In years past, these compositions would have been a collaboration between David and me—immersing into the music, choosing from the abundance of his creative outpouring, and sculpting a shared experience. This time I had to allow a trusting that, in the deepest way, we were still working together.

The album is called Reverence and will be available on March 4th, the day David would have turned 81 years old.

I used my most cherished memories in selecting the pieces with a sense of reverence in listening for the essence we were trying to express musically. I look forward to hearing your own impressions once this album is released into the world.

I am so very grateful for the opportunity to continue working with David’s music and sharing his art with his friends, both old and new. Your participation in this journey is an ongoing inspiration for me.

I offer a deep bow of gratitude to you,

Mickey Houlihan