In God's Esperanto
In God's Esperanto
any seven melodic instruments (including one narrator)
Composed with the assistance of an Australia Council Project Fellowship.
Performances:
• The Song Company [vocal version]: Roland Peelman, Ruth Kilpatrick, Anna Fraser, Lauren Easton, Mark Donnelly, Richard Black & Clive Birch.
- 13 Sept 2008, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney
- 17 Sept 2008, Wollongong City Gallery
- 19 Sept 2008, National Library of Australia, Canberra
- 24 Sept 2008, Verbruggen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
- 25 Sept 2008, Newcastle Conservatorium
- 27 Sept 2008, Memorial Hall, Bundanoon
- 28 Sept 2008, Verbruggen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
- 17 Oct 2008, Orange Regional Conservatorium
• Ensemble Offspring: Roland Peelman (narration & voice), Alison Morgan (flute & voice), James Nightingale (saxophone & voice), Bree van Reyk (accordion, percussion & voice), John Dewhurst (melodica, percussion & voice), Jason Noble (clarinet & voice) & Diana Springford (clarinet & voice)
- 13th May 2008, Street Theatre, Canberra International Music Festival
any seven melodic instruments (including one narrator)
Composed with the assistance of an Australia Council Project Fellowship.
Performances:
• The Song Company [vocal version]: Roland Peelman, Ruth Kilpatrick, Anna Fraser, Lauren Easton, Mark Donnelly, Richard Black & Clive Birch.
- 13 Sept 2008, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney
- 17 Sept 2008, Wollongong City Gallery
- 19 Sept 2008, National Library of Australia, Canberra
- 24 Sept 2008, Verbruggen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
- 25 Sept 2008, Newcastle Conservatorium
- 27 Sept 2008, Memorial Hall, Bundanoon
- 28 Sept 2008, Verbruggen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
- 17 Oct 2008, Orange Regional Conservatorium
• Ensemble Offspring: Roland Peelman (narration & voice), Alison Morgan (flute & voice), James Nightingale (saxophone & voice), Bree van Reyk (accordion, percussion & voice), John Dewhurst (melodica, percussion & voice), Jason Noble (clarinet & voice) & Diana Springford (clarinet & voice)
- 13th May 2008, Street Theatre, Canberra International Music Festival
- 19th May 2008, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney
About In God's Esperanto:
In God’s Esperanto, is an ironic look at the quest for the ultimate universal language: an attribute frequently ascribed to the language of music. A new poem, Spranto Lost, written especially by Christopher Wallace-Crabbe is used as a narrative thread against a chorus of spoken and melodic statements in Solresol. The texts are quotes from the Bible, Wallace-Crabbe, Umberto Eco, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Igor Stravinsky and the World Congress of Esperanto that refer to the quest for universal language: naturally the information contained in the statements is completely arcane.
Press In God's Esperanto:
The Song Company had taken up position on stage before the hall opened, so that the audience caught them, or at least we were led to assume, midway through the opening work.
Mostly in sotto voice, Damien Ricketson's In God's Esperanto consisted of a meditative mulling-over of evanescent choral harmonies and a cappella timbres, partly inspired by a failed 19th-century attempt to coin a universal language based on Sol-fa. Premiered this year, and already once revised, it might easily be a memorial to the late Karlheinz Stockhausen, whose Stimmung it brought hypnotically to mind. Though in such circumstances it was hard to be sure, it was probably the work on the program I'd most like to hear again ... and again. (Graeme Skinner, Sydney Morning Herald, 30/09/08)
Press In God's Esperanto:
The Song Company had taken up position on stage before the hall opened, so that the audience caught them, or at least we were led to assume, midway through the opening work.
Mostly in sotto voice, Damien Ricketson's In God's Esperanto consisted of a meditative mulling-over of evanescent choral harmonies and a cappella timbres, partly inspired by a failed 19th-century attempt to coin a universal language based on Sol-fa. Premiered this year, and already once revised, it might easily be a memorial to the late Karlheinz Stockhausen, whose Stimmung it brought hypnotically to mind. Though in such circumstances it was hard to be sure, it was probably the work on the program I'd most like to hear again ... and again. (Graeme Skinner, Sydney Morning Herald, 30/09/08)
Access In God's Esperanto:
An audio excerpt and the score of this work may be available to download on the Music page
An audio excerpt and the score of this work may be available to download on the Music page
