The Red Wheelbarrow by Rich Campbell (world premiere) | Text — The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens

Text: Public Domain | Originally published in "Spring and All" | Contact Publishing ©1923 William Carlos WIlliams

“The Red Wheelbarrow,” an environmental poem I first read as a teenager, struck me as an alluring and joyful means to immerse in the Planet Home project. The score blossomed during a resident fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a pastoral setting that nurtured embracing the poem’s vivid landscape. The piano provides a repeating foundation over which the choir playfully evokes the spare text, using variations of the initial theme throughout. There is a contemplative moment midway, then the pulse resumes, concluding with a gleeful repetition of the last line.

Love's Philosophy by Trevor Shaw (ASCAP) — world premiere

Text by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle.
Why not I with thine?—

See the mountains kiss high heaven
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?

Percy Shelley’s 1819 poem has been a long-time favorite of mine. Its simple imagery shows that nature beautifully creates inherent togetherness. I sought to honor the poet’s simplicity of metaphor by keeping the length of my composition relatively brief, harmonically thick, but tonal, and its form uncomplicated (A-A-B-A). While Shelley's poem clearly leads us to embrace the logic of romantic love, it simultaneously serves as a reminder of the value of basic human connection, highlighted more than ever as I write this note during a global pandemic. 

Hymn to Creation by Suzette Emberton (ASCAP) (world premiere)

Text by Suzette Emberton based on translations of Rig Veda 10:129

In the beginning, before the beginning,
When there was no before, and there was not yet time.
...Only nothingness.

There was no being or nonbeing, neither space nor the sky beyond.
What stirred? In whose protection?
Neither life, nor death, nor immortality.
No stars, no sun, no moon, no night or day.
Only The One breathing windlessly
And nothing else beyond The One.

All was in darkness, hidden by darkness.
(In the swirling darkness – energy and chaos)
In the swirling, roiling cosmic waters, all which was becoming
- Swirling and covered within the Void.
(Energy, Chaos, Fire, and Heat)
The Universe burst forth alive, born by Fire!

Whence came The Fire? Whence came The One?
Whence came Creation?
Who can say?

No one knows whence The One arose.
Perhaps the Divine willed it all to be.
Perhaps the Universe is the Divine and willed itself to be.

The Universe is here.
We are here.
We are made of stars.

Hymn to Creation is inspired by the creation story as told in the Rig Veda. When I happened upon this writing, I was immediately struck by the similarities between the ancient text and our current understanding of cosmology. In this creation story the universe is ancient, and perhaps even timeless, born from cosmic energy and chaos in a burst of fire. The existence and purpose of the universe remain a mystery to all except, possibly, The Divine; yet The Divine may be just another name for the universe. Nevertheless, it all exists, and we are part of the universe - made of the stuff of stars.

Afternoon on a Hill by Jeffrey Derus

Sandy Fivecoat Memorial Emerging Composer Contest Winner 2023 — Open Division

Text by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!

This poem is in the public domain.

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Afternoon On A Hill” brings us to a sunlit hillside where one can ponder the beauty of this earth and how we choose to live among it every day. The opening line, “I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!”, sets the tone for this piece. We often find ourselves lost in material possessions and our daily monotonous tasks that we walk right by the natural beauty of this planet we call home. The music is inspired by the natural lines and movement of nature. One will musically hear soaring clouds over peaks and valleys among bursts of flowers with the swaying grass. Millay calls us to observe nature with “quiet eyes.” I believe this is her call to action. She calls us to witness the beauty of the earth without corruption, but with contemplation on our own true beauty.

Halo — Music and Text by Seylon Stills

Text

Put on your Halo
Find the things that make you light up, and do it, light up, and do it again

Do You Wanna Ride — Music and Text by Seylon Stills

Text

VERSE 1

Orchestra comes from the ground
I sink into the the itchy earth
Cold air sings across my cheeks
My tummy is warmed when you see me
lights above begin to merge
The hazy daze conducts my nerves
Brings my heart beat to a pause
I’m almost still, thank the Lord

CHORUS

Do you wanna go
Do you wanna go ride
Do you wanna, do you wanna
Do you wanna go, do you wanna go ride
Do you wanna, do you wanna
Do you wanna go
Do you wanna go ride
Do you wanna, do you wanna
Do you wanna go, do you wanna go ride
Do you wanna

VERSE2

Don’t you just want to pretend
We are children once again
Forget about what was today
Hold my hand, hold your breath
What about the road above, Ophiuchus may heal our wounds
I’ll wrap my arms and hold on tight
If you ride away tonight

CHORUS

BRIDGE

I don’t want to know what’s going on in the world
I don’t want to know ‘bout the lies believed and the fans he’s won
I don’t want to know ‘bout the deepened gaps and the lives we’ve lost
Just tonight can we pretend we’re on another world and don’t know?

La magia del río — music and text by Santiago Veros — North American premiere

Somos la unión;
La fuerza más poderosa de la naturaleza,
Capaz de hacer brillar
El manantial de los deseos.
Somos los brazos en alto
Abrazando el cielo y
Uniendo los mares;
Atravesamos las fronteras y
Creamos la magia
Somos transportados allí,
Dónde el deseo fluye y
Dónde juntos somos el caudal
Capaz de convertir los sueños en realidad.
Juntos somos la magia del universo.

We are the union;
The most powerful force in nature,
With the ability to make shine
The spring of desires.
We are the arms high up and
We are hugging the sky
Uniting the seas;
We cross the borders and
We create magic.
We are transported there,
Where desire flows and
Where together we are the torrent
With the ability to turn dreams into reality.
Together we are the magic of the universe.

Program note — We are brothers of the same species and maybe we do not realize but our differences ideological, behavioral, religious, gender, etc. – In truth are skills to complement us and if we unite them, we will have access to all the knowledge of all the truths existing in humanity. We must be tolerant and learn from one another because we are in the same boat traveling together and to live a wonderful life, we must listen to each other and unite to awaken our kindness and create synergistic relationships. So we will always remember that we are the same species and we will find peace.

Every Swing of the Axe by Stephen Ryan Jackson — world premiere

Commissioned by Inversion Ensemble as part of the Happy Composer Commission Project

Soundscape composed by Seylon Stills

Text : The Disease Of Deforestation by Sam Illingworth

Looking down on jaded canopies, blinded eyes quickly cast their Milky gaze across logging that persists without permission
And wildfires that raze without restraint;
Ploughing through virgin shades of green to create hard edges where assassins lurk in dampened shadows.
Escalating in their severity,
These infected hosts Breed, Thrive, Survive;
Smearing their sickly saliva across the sweltering skins of their unwitting enablers.
Every swing of the axe, perfectly attuned to the avarice of their appetite;
A duet of devastation curbed only by a hidden loop that beats against this toxic tide.
A cue nearly missed; as we lose sight of the forest amongst the trees we have felled.

Source: https://pickmeuppoetry.org/the-disease-of-deforestation-by-sam-illingworth/

poem used with permission from Sam Illingsworth

we lose sight of the forest amongst the trees we have felled.

(this piece is meant to recreate that distinct sensation.)

A Moment with a Bumblebee by Carol Brown — world premiere

Soundscape composed by Seylon Stills

Text by Trevor F. Shaw

A Moment with a Bumblebee

My flowered shirt attracts your gaze,
So, you approach with bumbly ways.
Gentle Bombus on my hand,
I hear you buzzing as you land.

With comic bulk and wings so small,
How can you help to save us all?
You’re unassuming, fuzzy, kind,
With only pollen on your mind.

You seek a world which may be gone,
Rife with borage and bee balm.
Forgive us for our apathy,
Precious, golden bumblebee.

Eternally we owe a debt
To those who pollenate, and yet
We dedicate few words or tears
As your dear species disappears.

I’m no flower, our visit’s over.
Go bask in lavender and clover.
Each day I’ll spare at least a thought
For how much you improve our lot.

Text used with writer’s permission.

Program note — According to the Center for Biological Diversity, approximately one in four of North America's 4,000 bee species are in danger of extinction. Without enough bees to pollinate our crops and native plants, our very existence is at risk. I wanted to focus on the plight of our tiny superheroes for Planet Home, and I have the good fortune of having a partner who is a wordsmith and was able to create lovely imagery while also reminding us that we should not take these essential helpers for granted. I hope the listener will be able to imagine a bumblebee weaving from one flower to the next within the recurring theme throughout this piece, surrounded with the beautiful sounds of nature created by Seylon Stills for this program.

Extinction by Adrienne Inglis (ASCAP) — world premiere

Soundscape composed by Seylon Stills

Text : An Extinction by Kim Stafford

The poem “An Extinction” © 2022 Kim Stafford is unpublished and used with permission.

An Extinction by Kim Stafford

Not just the creature gone,
not just the tattered feathers,
dry leaf pressed thin.
Not just the rendering from memory,
not just the lost-list growing longer,
a shape and hue from the field guide fled,
not just a name that meant a life, a syllable that once
was teeming glory, one bright flurry
shimmering the sun.

No. No. No.
It’s one name gone from our happiness,
one breath lost from our respiration,
one thread frayed from our salvation,
one plank gone from the ark that carried us.

Be the songbird now and testify.
Be the butterfly hinge of gold.
Be the one with open hands
these wonders to behold.
Don’t let them fly.
Be the songbird now and testify.

Program note — Commissioned by Inversion Ensemble for its February 2023 Planet Home concert, Extinction sets the poem “An Extinction” (2022) by Kim Stafford for SATB mixed chorus. The three stanzas of the poem get distinct musical treatment: the first some text-painting and dissonance, the second rhythmic parts underpinning canonic melodic lines, the third a rich chorale. During my work on this piece, I happened to be traveling by train. The pitches of the train whistle snuck their way into the score as a dissonant chord. A nature soundscape may sometimes accompany this piece, although the tongue click sounds create a bit of their own aural ecosystem. Drawing attention to the unfolding catastrophe of mass extinction, Extinction hopes to inspire humans to action to prevent further loss of species biodiversity.

Planet Home — words and music by Jason Kay, Derrick McKenzei, Simon Katz, Toby Smith, Sola Akingbola, and Wallis Buchanan, arr. Trevor Shaw (ASCAP) — world premiere

Soundscape composed by Seylon Stills

You know, there's no place like planet home
Nowhere else I'd rather be
It's the only place I know
Where you can witness tragedy

There's no time to wonder now
About who is right or wrong
We're gonna need some help to get things straight
So come on, bring your voice along
'Cause sure enough

There's no place like planet home
I wanna go there
If only we could make it right, planet home
I wanna go there

This blue sphere of shattered dreams
Is heading for destruction
Illusions drip from every seam
It's just death, war and corruption

I heard there was a promised land
On planet home
Two thousand years have been and gone
But still we don't know
Can't you see that

There's no place like planet home
I wanna go there
If only we could make it right, planet home
I wanna go there
Find yourselves some peace on, planet home
I wanna go there
Anything's in reach on planet home
Planet home
Planet Home is blue and green, beautiful for you to see
I wanna go there

There's no place like planet home
I wanna go there
If only we could make it right, planet home
I wanna go there
Find yourselves some peace on planet home
I wanna go there
Anything's in reach on planet home (You know that anything's in reach on)
I wanna go there

This arrangement of "Planet Home" sticks closely to the original Jamiroquai song, at least as far as the melody and overall form. Much of the melody in the verses is unison, with only a few splits among the voices. The piano, however, adds an even thicker harmonic language than the source material. The chorus nearly exactly maintains the original harmony and is merely orchestrated for choir. Jason Kay's "breakdown", which replaced a traditional bridge has been converted into a classical/ minimalist texture.