Absence is written for a Ganassi recorder in G. It is in three sections. I was contemplating absence and what it means in various forms from the divine to the more mundane. I must be an optimist because even though this was originally a solo piece, slowly another voice is introduced by the performer singing and playing simultaneously, and by the end the two voices remain together and are as one. Absence can be played solo and quite rhythmically free, or with a percussionist and more metrically. I have performed this piece with percussionist Tony Lewis playing the udu and llama. The udu is a Nigerian style clay pot drum. Tony has developed his own style of playing the udu based on the techniques of the South Indian clay pot drum, the ghatam. The llama is made of its namesake's toenails gathered together. Tony wears it on his leg as a leg or dancer's rattle, and plays the main beats on it while playing the udu simultaneously. I have included a page with the basic rhythms that he devised to work with this piece, as a guide for percussionists.

This piece is dedicated to my dear friend, musician and instrument maker, Fardin Karamkhani. It is written for Ganassi recorders in 'G' and 'C' played simultaneously. It could be for any 'C' instrument. I hold the Ganassi in 'C' on my left side and the larger one in 'G' on my right side. Both instruments need to be supported by the legs. To do that you will need to be seated with the left ankle crossed over the right knee. This raises the left side for the smaller instrument to be supported and creates an enclosed area on the right leg for full support of the Ganassi in 'G'. I usually do this seated on the floor. Because of this support of the legs and mouth the performer's hands are free to cross over between instruments. The Ganassi in 'C' is on the left side simply as it is the main melody instrument and for most players, playing with the melody with the left hand on top is more comfortable.

I often play this piece with a percussionist, usually a Persian tombak, sometimes a Kurdish daf, and also I have played it with tabla. It could go nicely with other instruments in unison, like a lyra or violin. If playing with other instruments, especially percussion, it works well to take a break after the refrains to let the music breathe and hear the percussionist as well.