The work was composed in 1999 when a close member of composer’s family fell seriously ill. The ode of lamentation is assigned to the two instruments in such a way that they play singly in swift succession, frequently in unison, and then together as in a contrapuntal duet... The sound emanates from two sources, the tone colours of which are complementary and do not form a contrast. The vibrations are strictly synchronized, so that the intoned lamentation seems to come from a single source. This determines the rich simplicity of Tigran Mansurian's music. (Hanspeter Krellmann)