[PREFACE]
This work was incited by a pathbreaking study, Losing Our Heads, Beheadings in Literature and Culture (New York University Press, 2005) by Regina Janes, wherein it is established that beheaded persons do not lose mortal consciousness immediately at the moment of decapitation, but rather, that the physical senses continue to function for approximately half-a-minute following the severance of the head from the body. In the redoubtable field of practical, utilitarian music, no composer to my knowledge has ever furnished music for public executions. Yet it seems to me that, in the interests of civility and humanity, such persons who must meet their ends in this unfortunate manner should be given the opportunity to select for themselves some musical piece that they might wish to hear during these special and final moments. I have therefore prepared the present collection with a diligent attentiveness toward these unusual circumstances, and have attempted to provide suitable, appropriate music that will appeal to the widest possible variances in taste, and also, that will adhere rather strictly to the necessary time constraints. Although I dedicate these pieces to a number of prominent personages in the fields of art, science, religion, entertainment, business, media, and government, I have decided not to publish the names of any dedicatees until such time as circumstances may be more ripe for a subsequent, enlarged edition.