A Tribute to David Darling

Dear Friends,

This past January, 2021, we lost a great friend, and long-time Consort colleague, David Darling. 

David had been our cellist throughout the 1970s. He was a musical pioneer, a fellow warrior in our adventures, and a mensch. He was one of the greatest musical partners I have ever had, as well as a treasured friend for over half a century. 

In my sorrow, after learning the news, I immersed myself in listening to recordings we had made together, from our albums and concerts.

I came to feel it was important to share this music. Few people know the whole gamut of David’s playing. He was an extraordinary fountain of music, and quite possibly the most versatile cellist in the history of the instrument, up to that time. 

Since we are prevented now, by the Pandemic, from gathering for a concert to celebrate David’s life, I felt compelled to weave a playlist, from all these recordings, and make it available to anyone who is interested. 

Perhaps the greatest tribute to David we can make, will be to keep his music alive in the world. 

I began writing notes on the pieces, to accompany the playlist, as we have always done with our albums, to share information that might be of interest to listeners. The more I wrote, however, the more the memories of the whole journey David and I shared during those years began to weave themselves together. And reliving this story then became a way of reconnecting with David. But the only way to tell “the story” is to tell the stories. And since all these adventures took place between 40 and 50 years ago, it has taken me a bit of time to reconstruct them. Each time I returned to the music, however, the memories kept arising.   

Starting at the very beginning, with this amazing story of how we met David in 1969 in Terre Haute, Indiana, I kept going from there, following the memory trail. The momentum of this narrative propelled me for many days.

I offer this tribute to my departed brother. 

There are:

• “Adventures with David” (34 pages)
• Consorting with David (19-track playlist)
• Notes on the recordings (25 pages)

With gratitude,
For living music,
Paul

Consorting with David
(Playlist and Liner Notes)

The liner notes are embedded in the page next to the playlist. If you don’t see the liner notes, please click the button below to read the pdf in a new tab.

Adventures with David
(The Story)

The story is embedded in the page below. If you don’t see the embed, please click the button below to read the pdf in a new tab.