There are many ways to honor the memories of beloved pets who’ve passed — but music composer Noam Oxman found a particularly creative approach at doing so.
He transforms pets into beautiful songs.
A few years back, Oxman began a project called Sympawnies. The idea is elegantly simple — compose music in honor of people’s pets, written in musical notations that draw, quite literally, on the pets’ very own images.
The results are pleasing to both the eyes and the ears.
Here’s one such example, written for one of Oxman’s patrons — a composition in memory of their kitty named Chubby Cat:
“Chubby Cat was sweet and playful and the perfect cuddle buddy,” Oxman wrote. “With a sprinkle of playful piccolo, a touch of warm strings, and a sweet harmony progression — hopefully, the music sounds just a little bit like him. Rest in peace sweet Chubby Cat.”
Here’s another recent composition, written for a little dog named Foxxy:
Though Oxman often never has the chance to meet the pets he memorializes in song, he learns of their personalities in hopes of capturing their spirits in the music he creates.
Such was the case for a pup named Henri.
“I have been told by Henri’s human that he was a very happy dog and I wanted to reflect it in the music as well so eventually, I came up with this baroque-style joyful gigue and I think it suits both his personality and appearance pretty well,” Oxman wrote. “I really hope this piece would serve as a meaningful way of memorializing Henri for his humans.”
Oxman composes music in this way for living pets as well. But having these memorial compositions to look at and listen to no doubt does wonders in bringing comfort to families in mourning. For Oxman, likewise, Sympawnies are more to him than just an artistic outlet.
“Creating those pieces and having people from all around the world appreciating them so much and putting their trust in me to honor and memorialize their beloved pets fills me up with true happiness,” Oxman told The Dodo. “I’m 100 percent emotionally attached to my work because I love animals more than anything else!”