Et in Terra Pax (And on Earth, Peace)

SKU: BT.DHP-0981118-010

This piece was commissioned by the ‘Concert Band Vlamertinge’ and is a plea for peace: the title translates as ‘Peace on Earth’. This is expressed by means of the vocal contribution expected from the performers. In various places of the piece you can recognize, the words ‘Et In Terra Pax’ - an appeal for peace - at first jumbled together but later more rhythmically structured, developing into synchronized massed voices.The work starts with a pentatonic theme based on the notes D, E, G, A and C (taken from ‘ConCErtbAnD VlAmErtinGE’ and the name of the conductor, NiCk VAnDEnDriessChe). A somewhat sad melody is developed during an orchestral climax which leads to the firstexplosion of sound (measure 62 onwards). Suddenly the opening measures are recaptured, albeit with a differently colored sound: the words ‘Et In Terra Pax’ bring the first movement to a close. A restless Allegro follows which abruptly stops and is replaced by a calming cho-rale-like passage. A narrator reads aloud the poem ‘Sonnet’ by the young poet Charles Hamilton Sorley, who was killed during World War I. This poem fittingly puts into words the cruelty and senselessness of war. After the expanded recapitulation of the allegro, the broad, almost infinite atmosphere of the beginning returns. Clarinet and English horn play the pentatonic opening theme once more, this time broadly, while the words ‘Et In Terra... Pax’ are repeated again and again by the rest of the orchestra.The composer has purposely avoided all forms of aggression and bombastic sounds regularly used in works about war. Fear of violence and destruction can be heard and felt during the allegro passages. The charged opening makes way in the end for hope: May peacefulness replace cruelty in everyday life, too.

Dieses Werk wurde im Auftrag der Concert Band Vlamertinge geschrieben und ist ein Plädoyer an den Frieden: Der Titel bedeutet dann auch ‘Frieden auf Erden’. Dies kommt unter anderem im vokalen Anteil der Ausführenden zum Ausdruck. An verschiedenenStellen des Werkes erklingen, anfangs durcheinander dann zu einem rhythmischen und strukturierten Synchrongesang vereint, die Worte ‘Et In Terra Pax’ wie ein flehendes Gebet für den Frieden.

Ein pentatonisches Thema formt den Anfang dieses Werkes, basierend auf den Noten D, E, G, A, und C, die dem Namen: ‘ConCErtbAnD VlAmErtingE’ und dem Namen des Dirigenten NiCk VAnDEnDriessChe entstammen. Während der orchestralen Klimax, die zu einemersten Klangausbruch führt (ab Takt 62), entsteht eine etwas traurige Melodie. Plötzlich werden dann die Eingangstakte wiederaufgenommen, wenn auch mit einer veränderten Klangfarbe; die Worte ‘Et In Terra Pax’ runden den ersten Teil daraufhin ab. Esfolgt ein unruhiges Allegro, das überraschend durch eine Choralartigen Passage voller Ruhe unterbrochen wird. Eine Sprechstimme liest währenddessen das Gedicht Sonnet des jungen Dichters Charles Hamilton Sorley vor, der im ersten Weltkriegfiel. Es findet für die Grausamkeit und Sinnlosigkeit des Krieges die passenden Worte. Nachdem das Allegro, diesmal mit einigen Ausbreitungen, wiederholt wird, kehrt die weite, beinahe unendliche Atmosphäre des Beginns wieder zurück. Klarinettenspielen zusammen mit einem Englischhorn das pentatonische Eingangsthema ein letztes Mal in ausgebreiteter Fassung, wobei das “Et In Terra Pax’ durch den Rest des Orchesters stets wiederholt wird.Der Komponist hat bewusst auf jegliche Form der Aggression oder bombastischen Vertonung, die in so vielen Werken über den Krieg zu finden ist, vermieden. Dennoch ist die Angst vor Gewalt und Zerstörung vor allem in den Allegro-Passagen deutlich zuhören und zu fühlen. Am Ende macht die anfängliche Spannung jedoch der Hoffnung Platz: Möge die Friedlichkeit auch im täglichen Leben die Grausamkeit verbannen….

SKU: CF.CM9521

ISBN 9781491150535. UPC: 680160908035. 6.875 x 10.5 inches.

Eugene Butler has set this beloved Latin text from the Gloria, And on earth peace to all those of good will. Employing a variety of textures, Et in Terra Pax will challenge treble ensembles to meet their musical potential while singing with tremendous energy, power and a full, rich tone.

SKU: PR.31241902A

UPC: 680160690510. English.

Commissioned by the San Francisco Choral Society and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Terra Nostra is a 70-minute oratorio on the relationship between our planet and humankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. Part I: Creation of the World explores various creation myths from different cultures, culminating in a joyous celebration of the beauty of our planet. Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines human achievements, particularly since the dawn of our Industrial Age, and how these achievements have impacted the planet. Part III: Searching for Balance questions how to create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. In addition to the complete oratorio, stand-alone movements for mixed chorus, and for solo voice with piano, are also available separately.
Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between our planet and mankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. The oratorio is divided into three parts:Part I: Creation of the World celebrates the birth and beauty of our planet. The oratorio begins with creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt that are integrated into the opening lines of Genesis from the Old Testament. The music surges forth from these creation stories into “God’s World” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which describes the world in exuberant and vivid detail. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “On thine own child” praises Mother Earth for her role bringing forth all life, while Walt Whitman sings a love song to the planet in “Smile O voluptuous cool-breathed earth!” Part I ends with “A Blade of Grass” in which Whitman muses how our planet has been spinning in the heavens for a very long time.Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines the achievements of mankind, particularly since the dawn of the Industrial Age. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” sets an auspicious tone that mankind is on the verge of great discoveries. This is followed in short order by Charles Mackay’s “Railways 1846,” William Ernest Henley’s “A Song of Speed,” and John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s “High Flight,” each of which celebrates a new milestone in technological achievement. In “Binsey Poplars,” Gerard Manley Hopkins takes note of the effect that these advances are having on the planet, with trees being brought down and landscapes forever changed. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Dirge” concludes Part II with a warning that the planet is beginning to sound a grave alarm.Part III: Searching for Balance questions how we can create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. Three texts continue the earth’s plea that ended the previous section: Lord Byron’s “Darkness” speaks of a natural disaster (a volcano) that has blotted out the sun from humanity and the panic that ensues; contemporary poet Esther Iverem’s “Earth Screaming” gives voice to the modern issues of our changing climate; and William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” warns us that we are almost out of time to change our course. Contemporary/agrarian poet Wendell Berry’s “The Want of Peace” speaks to us at the climax of the oratorio, reminding us that we can find harmony with the planet if we choose to live more simply, and to recall that we ourselves came from the earth. Two Walt Whitman texts (“A Child said, What is the grass?” and “There was a child went forth every day”) echo Berry’s thoughts, reminding us that we are of the earth, as is everything that we see on our planet. The oratorio concludes with a reprise of Whitman’s “A Blade of Grass” from Part I, this time interspersed with an additional Whitman text that sublimely states, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…”My hope in writing this oratorio is to invite audience members to consider how we interact with our planet, and what we can each personally do to keep the planet going for future generations. We are the only stewards Earth has; what can we each do to leave her in better shape than we found her?