"...to listen to the cry of the earth..."
On April 22 Vladimir Jurowski conducted the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in Earth Cry, one of Australian composers Peter Sculthorpe’s defining works, at the Haus des Rundfunks in Berlin. The 6-minute version of Sculthorpe’s 1986 original condenses its urgent and prescient environmental themes in its evocation of the vast Australian landscape. The piece draws on drone effects from indigenous Aboriginal musical traditions, the sounds of wildlife, and pounding drums.
This abridged version of Earth Cry appeared as part of the ‘Hotspot: Erde’ programme, comprised of works that reflect ideas about ecology and the natural world, including excerpts from Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Haydn’s Creation, and Jean-Féry Rebel’s Les élémens. Details of the concert programme and tickets can be found here.
Paul Daniel also conducts Earth Cry on 5 and 6 May with the Real Filhamonia de Galicia.