We Begin (1987) is a collaborative album by the American jazz musicians Mark Isham and Art Lande. It is a highly experimental album featuring a wide range of compositional styles. The first track on the album is a piece titled “The Melancholy of Departure”. It consists of a soft and mournful trumpet melody set against a harsh and almost mechanical rhythm. “The Melancholy of Departure” takes its title from a 1916 work by the Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. The two most experimental tracks on the album are “Ceremony in Starlight” and “Surface and Symbol”. “Ceremony in Starlight” is an eerie avant-garde composition with muted trumpet, piano and synthesized bells. “Surface and Symbol” is a complex arrangement of looped trumpet, piano and percussion with synthesizer accompaniments. Track listing ”The Melancholy of Departure” (Isham) – 6:32 ”Ceremony in Starlight” (Isham) – 7:34 ”We Begin” (Lande) – 6:19 ”Lord Ananea” (Lande) – 2:42 ”Surface and Symbol” (Isham, Lande) – 10:45 ”Sweet Circle” (Lande) – 4:09 ”Fanfare” (Lande) – 3:26 Personnel Mark Isham – trumpet, fluegelhorn, piccolo trumpet, synthesizer, percussion Art Lande – piano, synthesizer, percussion Mark Isham albums Art Lande albums 1987 albums Albums produced by Manfred Eicher ECM Records albums