Hanan Townshend reflects on grief with “What We Lost II”
Some compositions speak loudly through spectacle and others arrive quietly, carrying emotional weight in every carefully placed note. With “What We Lost II,” award-winning composer and pianist Hanan Townshend crafts the latter kind of experience. It’s certainly a piece that unfolds slowly and with an almost reverent sense of stillness. He’s created a seriously deeply moving instrumental that feels like a highly specific moment of reflection.
Townshend, now based in Austin, Texas, has long built a reputation for emotional compositions that blur the boundaries between contemporary classical music, ambient soundscapes, and cinematic storytelling. The best part is you may have already encountered his work through his collaborations with visionary filmmaker Terrence Malick, contributing arrangements to films such as The Tree of Life and composing scores for Knight of Cups, To the Wonder, and Voyage of Time.
The thought process behind the creation of this song is 100% unlike anything we’ve ever encountered, that’s for sure. Townshend asked himself a question during its creation: if music had played when loss first entered the world, what might it have sounded like? That spark becomes the foundation for a composition that explores grief, memory, and the beauty that can exist within that entire framework.
On the instrumental end, the track is anchored by a piano, an instrument choice that softens the sound into something intimate. Gradually, delicate strings enter the frame, adding depth while never overwhelming the piano’s central melody. Though it certainly starts out a little slow and cumbersome in the first half, it fully picks up in the last half. You become literally immersed into the song in a way that’s difficult to put into words without listening.
The composition moves through moments of quiet sadness, gentle reflection, and even glimpses of fragile hope. There’s an obvious cinematic feel to the music that invites you to imagine your own narratives within the sound. For us, that’s kind of the best part of instrumental music. He can tell what inspired it, but you still get to feel whatever you want to feel based on how the music strikes you.
Another thing is that the production is remarkable to say the elast. Every element is balanced and allows the textures of piano and strings to breathe. Listening through headphones feels like a must for experiencing those subtle dynamics in the whole mix.
As the opening single from his forthcoming album, this song sets an extremely powerful tone. It’s contemplative, beautiful, and quietly profound. Our world moves too quickly, but Hanan Townshend offers a composition that asks you to pause and simply listen. So please do exactly that while you enjoy it. You can listen in, follow along, and of course stay tuned for more by clicking those links below.
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