Nature | Water | Life
Earthsongs seeks to foster an appreciation of our extraordinary biosphere and a cognisance that, as temporary curators, small and regular acts of responsible living can really make a difference.
Art is adept at describing utopias but is also highly effective at representing the world as it is and, most usefully, stimulating debate.
Earthsongs, despite giving us pause for thought about climate issues, focuses on the miracle of nature, its preservation and the idea that - if there is enough will to do so - we could mitigate disaster.
Encompassing the thrilling high baroque of Vivaldi, via English folk, whale song, Tibetan singing bowls, Indian-influenced dervishes, the urban intensity of Joy Division to the Bruegelesque menageries of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, the relentless Nuevo tango of Piazolla and the transcendent ambient soundscapes of Brian Eno.
The Programme
Le Page - Dreamtime
Dreamtime alludes to the Aboriginal concept of Everywhen, during which the land was inhabited by revered ancestral figures. The work is a fusion of drone-based Carnatic music, sampled birds from Vivaldi’s Spring and a four bar quote from Pyramid Song by the English rock band Radiohead.
Le Page - Anthropocene Blues
The title refers to The Anthropocene, a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including anthropogenic climate change. In terms of style the piece is closer to folk music than classical and is characterised by constantly shifting rhythmic emphases - and a duet between the orchestra and a pod of whales…
Rameau arr. Le Page - Les Boréades - Entrée du Polymnie
Taken from a five act opera by French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) Entrée du Polymnie is a musical interlude without voices that depicts Polymnie, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, agriculture and pantomime. The exquisite opening is a breathtaking sunrise in musical form.
Mclaughlin/Shankar/Le Page - Joy
Joy takes a passage from a 1976 live recording by the fusion band Shakti, expands the idea and transfers it to a classical context whilst attempting to preserve its furious dervish-like energy. Shakti was formed by English guitarist John McLaughlin, Indian violin player L. Shankar, percussionists Zakir Hussain (on tabla) and T. H. "Vikku" Vinayakram (on Ghatam) in 1974.
Joy Division arr. Le Page - New Dawn Fades
Formed in Salford in 1976 Joy Division were an English rock band featuring vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. This arrangement seeks to encapsulate the controlled chaos of the band’s sound, and hints at the negative psychological impact of living in cities amidst the brutalist architecture of Britain in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Harold Budd arr. Le Page - Arabesque 3
The American composer and poet Harold Budd (1936 – 2020) was born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert. A respected minimalist composer and part of the avant-garde scene of 1960s Southern California Budd became better known for his later work with figures from the world of ambient music such as Brian Eno and Robin Guthrie.
Purcell arr. Le Page - Now Winter Comes Slowly
Next winter comes slowly,
pale, meagre and cold,
First trembling with age,
and then, quivering with cold;
benumb'd with hard frosts,
and with snow cover'd o'er,
benumb'd with hard frosts,
and with snow cover'd o'er,
Prays to the sun to restore him,
prays to the sun to restore him
and sings as before.
Thomas Betterton
Biber arr. Le Page - Sonata Representativa
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644 - 1704) was a Bohemian violinist and composer. Hugely influential during his lifetime, he is thought to have inspired the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin by J.S. Bach. The Sonata Representativa depicts an extraordinary menagerie of birds and beasts and shifts wildly (and occasionally disconcertingly) between raucous humour and utter beauty.
Charlie Heys - Swift
Charlie Heys is a folk fiddler, singer and composer. Swift is her gorgeous depiction of the eponymous bird which is among the fastest of any in level flight. Typically the swift covers 200,000 km in a single year and along with hummingbirds - their close relatives - they possess the unique ability to rotate their wings from the base.
Piazzolla arr. Garcia/Le Page - Libertango
Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992) was an Argentine bandoneon player and tango composer who revolutionised the form with his Nuevo tango, a style that incorporated elements of jazz and contemporary classical music. Libertango is one of his best known works and combines the relentless rhythmic drive of tango with a sense of romantic, life affirming exhilaration.
Brian Eno arr. Le Page - An Ending (Ascent)
Inventor of ambient music, composer, producer, keyboardist with Roxy Music, writer and artist Brian Eno originally wrote An Ending (Ascent) for the documentary For All Mankind. The film by Al Reinert uses original footage from NASA's Apollo program, which successfully prepared and landed the first humans on the Moon from 1968 to 1972.
“Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it.”
Yuri Gagarin
“I realised up there that our planet is not infinite. It’s fragile. That may not be obvious to a lot of folks, and it’s tough that people are fighting each other here on Earth instead of trying to get together and live on this planet. We look pretty vulnerable in the darkness of space.”
Alan Shepard