Charles Darwin's Origin of Species is not only one of the most important scientific works of all time, but one of the most beautifully written. In The Origin Cycle, eight contemporary composers set fragments of Darwin's great book to music, for performance by solo soprano and chamber ensemble.
The passages chosen encompass the entire work, capturing the many facets of a Darwinian view of nature, and summarizing what Darwin called the "one long argument" contained in the Origin. They include his most famous and enduring images – the growing "tree of life" connecting all species, the vision of nature as a surface into which wedges are unceasingly struck, and the book's final invocation of "grandeur in this view of life." (Read the libretto and program notes.)
The works were commissioned by Jane Sheldon and Peter Godfrey-Smith and funded by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
"... a beautifully conceived and executed project, extending one's mind out of usual listening habits to apprehend music and art within the vastness of nature's patterns." Sydney Morning Herald (full review).
Winner in the "Best Performance" category at the 2011 ART Music Awards (Jane Sheldon and Ensemble Offspring).
The Origin Cycle
The Face of Nature
Hourly Scrutinising
Tree of Life
Comparing the Eye to a Telescope
Economy of Wax
A History Imperfectly Kept
Entangled Bank
Floreana
Elliott Gyger
Kate Neal
Elena Kats-Chernin)
Barry Conyngham
Nicholas Vines (notes)
Dan Walker)
Paul Stanhope
Rosalind Page (notes)
Performances
Harvard UniversityFirebird Ensemble with Jane Sheldon, soprano, and Jeffrey Means, conductor
Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, April 28, 2009. Review 1, Review 2, Photo 1, Photo 2
Stanford University
Firebird Ensemble with Jane Sheldon, soprano, and Jeffrey Means, conductor
Campbell Recital Hall, Stanford University, October 8, 2009.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Jane Sheldon, soprano and Mark Hopkins, conductor.
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, October 17, 2009. Photo 1, Photo 2.
Australian National University
Ensemble Offspring with Jane Sheldon, soprano, and Roland Peelman, conductor.
Peter Karmel Building, Australian National University, November 13, 2009. Photo 1,
Australian Museum
Ensemble Offspring with Jane Sheldon, soprano, and Roland Peelman, conductor
Australian Museum, Sydney, November 19, 2009. Review.
Hear the project discussed on The Music Show. An article in Resonate magazine is here; one in Time Out magazine is here.
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With thanks:
