Poem by Erin Lynch
Soprano 1- Miranda Brugman; Soprano 2- Iris Bečaj; Mezzo-Soprano- Erika Poh; Tenor 1- Benjamin Cross; Tenor 2- Benjamin Cross; Baritone- Powell Brumm; Bass- Allen Adair Flute- Linda Diaz; Pennywhistle- Aidan Gold; Harmonica- Frank Ticheli; Clarinet- Benjamin Webster; Horn- Joshua Altrock; Percussion- Aidan Gold; Harp- Nikki Chang; Guitar- Conner Shaw; Piano- You Zhao, Lisa Sylvester, Coen Hakeboom; Celesta- Aidan Gold; Cello 1- Alexander Mansour; Cello 2- Sophie Mathieu; Audio Production- Aidan Gold; Video Production- Erin Lynch (I, IX, X), Aidan Gold (II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII); Photos- Warren Gold, Aidan Gold
Live performance of an arrangement of Hard Weather (Introduction) for Orchestra and Chorus:
Performed by the Columbia Bach Society, conducted by Sofia Ouyang.
Hard Weather is a cycle of ten songs, each setting various parts of the poem Hard Weather by Erin Lynch. As a whole, Hard Weather explores the melting of glaciers around the world due to climate change, and how this affects the surrounding ecosystems through the eyes of the creatures, both human and non-human, that interact with the glaciers. My parents were avid mountain climbers, and so throughout my childhood they took me on hikes up to the glaciers on Mount Rainier and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, and I was always fascinated by the immense scale and interconnectedness of the glaciers and their ecosystem. They expand, contract, grow, and shape the cliffs and alpine landscape around them; their melting serves as the springs of creeks that grow into huge rivers stretching hundreds of miles to the ocean; and these rivers in turn give water and life to the world around them. It is this scale and connectedness that I attempted to evoke in this song cycle.
There are seven singers in this piece. In songs 1 (“Introduction”), 5 (“Interlude”), and 10 (“Finale”), they all sing together as the voice of the glaciers themselves. The other seven movements each feature one singer as the soloist, portraying a character that relates somehow to the ecosystem of the glaciers.
For the score of the Orchestra and Choir arrangement, see Hard Weather (Introduction).
For additional information, questions, or parts requests, contact Aidan.