21 Grams by Caleb Pickering

21 Grams refers to the hypothesized “weight of the human soul,” as described by Dr. Duncan Macdougall in his 1907 medical experiments. Dr. Macdougall conducted several experiments measuring the weight of his patients before, during, and after their deaths. This work is abstractly programmatic in that it follows a general interpretation of seeing what lies beyond our existence on earth, both good and bad. The main themes include an original hymn melody in the style of diatonic chant, and the famous Christian Passion hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.”