Composition date: 2019
Text: John Donne from An Anatomy of the World
Instrumentation: solo soprano, two trumpets, strings
Length: 9 minutes
Premiere:
Date: April 14, 2019
Venue: Frick Laboratory, Princeton University (in honor of Rob Socolow)
Performers: Heather O'Donovan (soprano), Christian Venturella and Arjun Guthal (trumpets), Ellie Shapiro and Kathryn Leung (violins) and Daniel Kim (cello), conducted by Lou Chen.
Piece Description:
The choice of text for this piece was suggested by Rob Socolow in an article that he wrote: 'Truths we Must Tell Ourselves to Manage Climate Change' in the Vanderbilt Law Review. In this thoughtful overview of his ideas, Rob comments specifically on John Donne's response to news of Galileo's Starry Messenger:
"Donne realized that here was compelling evidence that the earth was not at the center of the universe, and that this news would be devastating to established political and social hierarchies."
The doubts and fears that Donne described are - as Rob explains - strikingly similar to the ones that we now face four hundred years later.
For fixed media options, parts and performance inquiries please contact Andrew using the form below.