 BrachaThe Music of Meira WarshauerVolume IV, Number I  Winter 2007Symphony No. 1 - Living, Breathing Earth
The first performance will be on Saturday, February 3, when conductor John Gordon Ross and the Western Piedmont Symphony present the work in Hickory, N. Carolina. - http://www.wpsymphony.org/. The next performance will be on Saturday, March 24, when Nicholas Smith leads the South Carolina Philharmonic in concert at Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia, S. Carolina. - http://www.scphilharmonic.com/. The next two performances will be on Thursday, April 26 and Saturday, April 28, with Neal Gittleman leading the Dayton Philharmonic at the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, Ohio. - http://www.daytonphilharmonic.com/. All three of these fine ensembles contributed to the consortium commission of this new work. The composer has written the following about the new work:
"We know life on earth is in danger, with many species sick and dying from our pollution, and the atmosphere losing its protective qualities. The very breath of the earth, the relationship between carbon dioxide and oxygen, is out of balance. Sometimes it takes a threat of loss for us to realize the blessings we have, and to act to preserve them. Just as when praying for the healing of a loved one we picture the person in perfect health, so in this symphony, I celebrate the earth in her radiant fullness." "The rhythms and shadings of the earth were my inspiration. The first movement grew from the call of the cicadas. In summer, 2005, their calls to mate were exceptionally strong, with 20-30 second waves of overlapping sound energizing Carolina and Georgia nights and into the days. The second movement recalls a nighttime canoe ride in the Peruvian rainforest, stars and fireflies sparkling reflections in the dark water. The third movement delights in the playful dance of butterflies at river's edge, sunlight shimmering on the water's surface, and flocks of birds soaring above. The fourth movement portrays earth's majestic rotation, slowly turning in a kaleidoscope of shifting colors as the sounds of teeming life from earlier movements gradually return."
"With gratitude for the miracle of life, and with prayer for the wisdom and will to heal our precious home planet, I dedicate this first symphony to the living, breathing earth and her Creator."
"My family, especially my husband Sam, provides the emotional constancy upon which I depend." For more information about Meira Warshauer, including a complete catalog of her works, visit her website. For any other information about the music of Meira Warshauer, please contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at 516-586-3433 or jamesarts@worldnet.att.net. |
Meira Warshauer's Symphony No. 1 - Living, Breathing Earth, will receive its World Premiere performances in the coming months.
"The title Living, Breathing Earth came to me in contemplating the image of the rainforests as lungs of the earth. I felt our planet, alive with all variety of creatures and plants living in symbiosis with each other, breathing in and out, and the planet as a whole, pulsing with breath. I also contemplated the earth rotating through space, a spinning orb of blue and green, at just the right distance from the sun to support life, and our protective blanket of air, the atmosphere of the earth, providing the medium for our breath."
She also writes, "The trust and support of the commissioning orchestras enabled me to hold the vision of this work and bring it forth to performance. I am also grateful for the nurturing and beautiful environment of The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia, where I began and continued this composition in fall, 2005, and spring, 2006. Thanks to the South Carolina Arts Commission for awarding me the Artist Fellowship in Music Composition in 2005-06 with unrestricted funds that helped support this project."