Japanese Garden-Portland,OR
Yesterday was Earth Day! I don’t have memories of many Earth Day celebrations or events. The one memory that does stick in my mind is a concert I attended in the National Cahedral in Washington, DC. The occassion was the premier of a wonderful composition by my mentor and long-time friend, Gregg Smith. This important work, Earth Requiem, was a commission from the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington, DC. The stunning performance was 17 years ago and still remains clear in my mind. The work for large chorus, symphony orchestra, solo quartet and children’s choir was magnificent and I long to hear it again. The text is a combination of the Latin Requiem Mass, Navajo and Iroquois Indian prayers, and poems of ee cummings, Hopkins and Whitman; they all combine to express Gregg Smith’s concern, even then, for the “quality of mankind’s environment”. The work calls for the chorus to be placed in the front of the Cathedral while the children’s choir is located in the back of the space; four soloists perform from opposing sides, back, front and on each side of the massive space. What a celebration of and grieving for, our planet- all in one hour of glorious surround sound. The memory is a reminder of how fragile our Earth is, something we should pause to remember not only on April 22, but all year long, each day through sunshine, rain, fog, Summer, Fall, Winter and in the rebirth of Spring.
I pause today and let my mind wander through the wonders of planet Earth, the diverse places where I have lived as well as those places I have traveled. In this pause, my breath comes alive and floods my being, my shoulders release outward, my mind scans ever so quickly from the Grand Canyon to the streets of San Francisco and the view of that glorious Golden Gate. I remember my first visit to the gorgeous Oregon coast and the awe of seeing Haystack Rock for the first time. Then, there is my own neighborhood in Spring, which is like living in a flower box. It all makes me think we need to celebrate and truly see our planet and the beauty around us, without ceasing. Have you paused to see and hear the beauty surrounding you today? Here is the Navaho prayer to which Gregg Smith set a simple, yet beautiful, round; the round ends his magnificent Earth Requiem as the children process from the back to the front of the space, surrounding us with the beauty of sound and celebration.
“Now I walk in Beauty
Beauty is before me
Beauty is behind me
Above and Below me”
_Navajo Prayer
Beautifully written!
Thanks, Daniel. This work is so fantastic, but I imagine expensive to perform. I tried to get Bob Geary to use it with his big SF chorus and the Piedmont choirs. Sent him info from Gregg.
Hope you are well!
xoxo
It was delightful to read this… even though it was written almost eight years ago.
I was a member of the Cathedral Choral Society during the season that Gregg Smith’s Earth Requiem was performed. I was purging my music filling cabinet a few days ago when I’d found my Earth Requiem binder of music.
Thank you for this! I am sure the memory must be special to you! I so wish it would receive more performances! Happy New Year to you!