Mahler - Abschied. In memory of David Caille, 1986-2014

I had tickets to see Ann Hallenberg in Mahler's Song of the Earth in Berlin on April 5 2014, but had to cancel the whole trip for work. On April 8, this clip of Ann singing the Abschied was published on YouTube. On April 9, David, at just 27, took his own life and we lost an artist who could, I sincerely believe, even now have brought something quite new to the art of painting. For me, this Abschied has always been, since then, a farewell to David.

As Peter Doig said, he will not be forgotten.

The following Saturday, on a beautiful sunny day up in the snow-capped mountains: deep blue sky, white blossoms on the trees... I was at his funeral, where the crowd of those who loved him was such that many had to stay outside the church among the mountains of flowers, and inside, this was played:

 'Now I've heard there was a secret chord / That David played, and it pleased the Lord..'