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Please Note (Nota Bene):
Three days after the attack on the Twin Towers on Septermber 11th, 2001,
G.W. Bush addressed the grief stricken Nation from the Memorial Cathedral in Washington DC.
It was there he addressed the Nation and this is the speech you are listening to here.
It's a great speech and very heart felt. American's struggled to express their grief and responded to the tragedy
in their own way to deal with the great pain. The way the Composer did so was to set to music this beautiful
speech that honored the innocent dead and respected the lives lost and the families destroyed.
The composition, the speech and the man who delivered it is not intended to make any political statement or defend
any political position. It's is to respect and honor the innocent dead and the families along with all other
American's affected by it, NOT because of who was saying it, but because of WHAT was being said.
Daniel Léo Simpson
The Composer
Procession of The Patriots (An American Address)
~ An Orchestral Narration to the Address of President George W. Bush
from the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
on September 14, 2001 ~
Click HERE to listen...
Click HERE to see speech text...
Download Mr. Simpson's composition in response to the September 11th tragedy.
Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2010 4:56 AM
Subject: about "Patriots"
Dear Léo,
i just visited your nice web site and i can say that you are a great
person not only in music. Is offensive ask you why did you choose the
voice of a criminal and hypocrite like G.W. Bush to one of your
music? You are an older man than i am and i respect you and your
ideas in any case so i hope not to loose your friendship. I'm
enjoying studying "Soliloquy".
Good bye for now friend
Giovanni=
Hi Giovanni,
Thank you for letting me know how you feel about the tribute to the victims of 9/11.
I have been thinking for about three years that it was time to take it down, but out of respect for the
people whose innocent lives were lost I have not done so. I put it up in 2001 so it's been there now for over 8 years.
For the last three years it's been bothering me that this is the first thing people see when they come to my website.
Now that I've received your email, I know I need to do something about that. I believe I have a good solution.
But first let me explain so you understand why it is up there in the first place.
In 2001 the United States was maliciously attacked - it was even worse than Pearl Harbor.
Peal Harbor was also an unprovoked attack, but it was a military base in Hawaii.
The Twin Towers was an attack on simple people like you and I who were busy with
life and their families. It was a cruel attack and the country poured out its emotions in many ways.
Three days after the attack, Bush spoke at the Memorial Cathedral in Washington DC.
It was there he addressed the nation and this is the speech you are listening to here.
It's a great speech and very heart felt. So the way I responded to the tragedy,
was to set this beautiful speech that honored the dead to music.
NOT because of who was saying it, but because of WHAT was being said.
But you must also understand, this was in 2001, just as Bush's administration was getting started.
He had only been president a little over 8 months when the attack occurred. It was only after his attack of Baghdad and
invasion of Iran that public opinion
began turning against him. I would say, for me, as for many others, G.W. Bush turned out to be a "big disappointment",
however the piece was composed and his speech set to music BEFORE any of that happened.
So here is my solution: I am going to remove the piece from the front page, and will create a new page for the composition where
there will be an explaination as to the purpose of the piece and why it was written. I do not want there to be any misunderstandings and
I certainly do not want people to believe I am making some sort of political statement or endorsement to any particular person.
I am only sharing how I personally dealt with the tragedy in a time when the entire Nation was paralyzed with grief and remorse.
My personal political positions still remain quite neutral. This is not because I am afraid to stand up for my beliefs,
or to take a position, no...it is because I think arguing about religion and politics is a complete waste of my time.
You will never change another person's opinion on either subject, and you will only create more conflict.
But there is another reason I remain neutral: I am a Composer.
In every biography of every great composer, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, etc.
there were governments and religious and political leaders at the time that had more power then the composers.
But they are now gone. Their governments and in many cases their names are forgotten. But we still have the Overture to William Tell; we still have Mozart, we still have Verdi being played on stage here in San Francisco. Governments are established and endure for a time and their leaders for a moment - likewise great composers streak accross the sky like a brilliant meteor then are extinguished, but their music remains...
Please keep me updated on your progress with the composition I sent you.
You know I am always anxious to hear how you are doing my dear friend.
Léo
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