Voices of Earth (Soprano, Cello & Piano)

Voices of Earth: Programme Notes

Voices of Earth is a song-cycle written for soprano Elizabeth Atherton, someone I have admired from afar for some time and this resulting collection of pieces very much represents a piece ticked off my compositional bucket list. The song cycle is a continuation of my obsession in exploring themes which relate to the natural world and the climate emergency, which began with Six Degrees for BBC NOW in 2011 and has continued throughout my compositional output. Voices of Earth was premiered by Elizabeth Atherton (Voice), Alice Neary (Cello) and James Southall (Piano) in May 2024 as part of Atmospheres festival at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

The song cycle sets three texts with themes which link to the natural world. 

I - Voices Of Earth Poem by Archibald Lampman (1895)

II - Fire and Ice by Robert Frost (1920)

III - Field Of Wild Flowers by Shelagh Bullman (2018)

Canadian poet Archibald Lampman explores themes of nature with wonder, depth and sensitivity, creating a sense of awe and wonder which I have tried to capture in the score. Cascading harmonies swirl around the lyrical and largely consonant vocal line, with the intention of exploring a sense of the epic beauty of our planet Earth, alluding to Lampman’s description of sounds which give voice to Earth’s “secret soul”.  

The laidback tone of Robert Frost’s ‘Fire and Ice’ perhaps masks the severity of the subject matter which focuses upon the destruction of the natural world. Interpreting ice as a metaphor for climate breakdown, the resultant song is initially wildly animated, with dissonant harmonies and agitated rhythms producing an unstable opening far removed from the previous movement. Fire and Ice are presented as two contrasting elements - forceful rising gestures represent the former, whilst brighter twinkling motifs allude to the latter. The two combine throughout the song, supporting a vocal line which is initially angular and disjunct with sharp contrasts in register. As the realisation that either method will “suffice” to bring about destruction and the inevitable end of the world, the pace slows, harmony becomes more diatonic, and the melodic lines increasingly reflective as the words “some say the world will end” are repeated and fade.

The song cycle concludes with Field of Flowers, where my aim was to create a calm, meditative and reflective passage. The movement uses largely diatonic harmonies, interspersed with modal fragments, alluding to the beauty and magic of what we have, and what we are losing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYlCr3VPjnI