LIGHT (Arctic Dreams 3)

SATB Choir, Flute, Vibraphone & Digital Audio Playback

Work Details

LIGHT (Arctic Dreams 3)
(2003)
WORK DURATION
10:30
WORK CODE
CH/AD3
Instrumentation
SATB Choir, Flute, Vibraphone & Digital Audio Playback
COMMISSION DETAILS
The Toronto Children's Chorus (with financial support from the Ontario Arts Council)
Premiere
The Exultant Singers, Susan Hoeppner (fl), Beverly Johnston (vib), cond. John Tuttle, St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Toronto, CAN on 4 March 2005.

Arctic Dreams 3 is an adaption of Arctic Dreams 2 for SATB choir, flute, vibraphone and digital audio playback.

While composing Arctic Dreams 1 (PE103), Hatzis was invited to be the Canadian composer-in-residence for the 2003 UNESCO Songbridge Project, an international gathering of several children's choirs from around the world. The project guidelines recommended that the composition have a theme particular to the country of the choir's (and corresponding composer's) residence and that an opportunity should be included for active participation by the audience. This evolution of Arctic Dreams 1 was the result, with its central, constantly repeating melody, easily learned by an audience, and the New Age-like optimism and hope with which the work overall is imbued. The audio component of the work features predominately Inuit throat singers and ayaya singers, establishing a strong connection with the Canadian northern experience. A short text was added to the main melody referring to the northern lights: "Disturbing the darkness, the endless night: a miracle of light" as well as iterations of the word "light" in various languages reflecting the kaleidoscopic makeup of the participating choirs.

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