Earth, sea, sky
Grand Philharmonic Chamber Singers celebrate Earth Day with a timely global message
Singers celebrate Earth Day with timely global message
KITCHENER — With Earth Day taking place April 22, the Grand Philharmonic Chamber Singers were inspired to feature music with a message of deep concern for our planet.
“Earth Day is about our human impact on the earth and what we can do to make it better,” said the Singers’ artistic director, Mark Vuorinen, who leads the choir and a six-piece ensemble in a concert the night before Earth Day, aptly entitled “Earth, Sea, Sky.”
The anchor piece for this concert will be Leonard Enns’ work, “Ten Thousand Rivers of Oil” — the title coming from a Hebrew Bible passage, Micah 6:6-8, though the prophet was talking about olive oil.
In either case, oil represents wealth and power but in modern times, that wealth has more profound impacts.
Vuorinen said Enns’ piece is a contemplation on the human reliance on oil as well as consumerism and how those activities affect the Earth.
The music uses the poetry of Canadian George Whipple, who mourns the loss of life because of humanity’s unquenchable desire for oil.
As Whipple says, “Wars are fought and children killed for the price of oil.”
In this music, Enns speaks to “how we can be better responsible for the way we live,” Vourinen said.
There are other messages in Micah’s work that also feed into this idea of caring not just for the Earth but each other, said Vuorinen.
In the Bible passage, Micah counsels humanity to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
“Ten Thousand Rivers of Oil” was commissioned by the University of Guelph in 2010 and will be featured in the second half of the concert, followed by “Long Road” by E riks Ešenvalds with text by Latvian poet, Paulı ne Ba rda.
The concert pulls in music, poetry and texts from around the world.
Opening with “What is Life?” by Canadian-Latvian composer Imant Raminsh, the music uses text from Crowfoot, chief of the Siksika First Nations, a peacemaker and diplomat who negotiated with the federal government on behalf of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
“I Go Among Trees” with text by American poet Wendell Berry has an ethereal sound and feels like walking through a quiet forest.
“Kasar Mie La Gaji” brings yet another perspective to the concert.
The title of the haunting piece, written by Venezuelan composer Alberto Grau, means “the Earth is tired” as spoken in an African dialect from the Sahara region.
“O God, Whenever I Listen” also by Imant Raminsh, uses text from eighth-century Islamic writings.
Vuorinen said there is a lot of philosophy being put forth in this concert and he hopes listeners absorb the message: “What is life? Life is all around us, we need to be more aware of it.
“It’s a global message and the music draws on traditions from all around the globe.”
This concert wraps up the Grand Philharmonic Chamber Singers 2017-18 season.