SKU: BT.DHP-1196183-130

English-German-French- Dutch.

Composed by Paul Raphael, Explorers on the Moon, the sequel to his 2017 work Destination Moon, was composed in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Moon Landings. It is inspired by the Belgian author Hergé and his most famous creation, Tintin. The music uses Hergé’s story from 1950 almost twenty years prior to the first ever moon landing - following Tintin and his fellow adventurers as they become the first humans on the Moon. This fantastic piece is split into three parts, titled ‘Space’, ‘Nightmare Land’ and ‘The Journey Home’ and is one of the most spectacular contest pieces in recent years.

Explorer s on the Moon is een vervolg op Paul Raphaels eerdere werk Destination Moon uit 2017. Het werd in 2019 gecomponeerd ter gelegenheid van de vijftigste gedenkdag van de maanlanding in 1969. De inspiratiebron was Kuifje de beroemdste creatie van de Belgische auteur en striptekenaar Georges Remi, die bekender is onder zijn pseudoniem Hergé. Het uitgangspunt voor de muziek is diens verhaal uit 1950 waarin Kuifje en zijn medeavonturiers de maan bezoeken, bijna twintig jaar voor de eerste échte maanlanding. Dit fantastische werk, dat uit drie delen ‘Space’, ‘Nightmare Land’ en ‘The Journey Home’ bestaat, is een van de meest spectaculaire wedstrijdwerken uitrecente jaren.

Explorers on the Moon, komponiert von Paul Raphael, entstand 2019 anlässlich des 50. Jahrestages der Mondlandung (1969) und ist die Fortsetzung seines 2017 erschienenen Werkes Destination Moon. Das Stück wurde von dem belgischen Autor Hergé und seiner berühmtesten Erfindung, Tim und Struppi, inspiriert. Die Musik orientiert sich an Hergés Geschichte aus dem Jahr 1950, in der Tim und seine Begleiter als erste Menschen den Mond betreten fast zwanzig Jahre vor der ersten Mondlandung. Dieses fantastische Stück besteht aus drei Sätzen: Space“, Nightmare Land“ und The Journey Home“. Es zählt zu den spektakulärsten Wettbewerbsstücken der letzten Jahre.

Écrite par Paul Raphael en 2019 pour marquer le 50e anniversaire des premiers hommes sur la lune, en 1969, Explorers on the Moon fait suite Destination Moon, du même compositeur. Cette nouvelle œuvre s’inspire de l’auteur belge Hergé et de sa création la plus célèbre, Tintin. La musique est fondée sur l’histoire de On a marché sur la Lune, qui fait suite Objectif Lune, histoire écrite en 1950 anticipant la réalité de près de vingt ans , qui raconte l’aventure de Tintin et de ses compagnons sur notre satellite. Cette œuvre remarquable en trois mouvements (« Space », « Nightmare Land » et « The Journey Home ») est une des pièces de concours les plusspectaculaires de ces dernières années.

SKU: BT.DHP-1196183-030

English-German-French- Dutch.

Composed by Paul Raphael, Explorers on the Moon, the sequel to his 2017 work Destination Moon, was composed in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Moon Landings. It is inspired by the Belgian author Hergé and his most famous creation, Tintin. The music uses Hergé’s story from 1950 almost twenty years prior to the first ever moon landing - following Tintin and his fellow adventurers as they become the first humans on the Moon. This fantastic piece is split into three parts, titled ‘Space’, ‘Nightmare Land’ and ‘The Journey Home’ and is one of the most spectacular contest pieces in recent years.

Explorer s on the Moon is een vervolg op Paul Raphaels eerdere werk Destination Moon uit 2017. Het werd in 2019 gecomponeerd ter gelegenheid van de vijftigste gedenkdag van de maanlanding in 1969. De inspiratiebron was Kuifje de beroemdste creatie van de Belgische auteur en striptekenaar Georges Remi, die bekender is onder zijn pseudoniem Hergé. Het uitgangspunt voor de muziek is diens verhaal uit 1950 waarin Kuifje en zijn medeavonturiers de maan bezoeken, bijna twintig jaar voor de eerste échte maanlanding. Dit fantastische werk, dat uit drie delen ‘Space’, ‘Nightmare Land’ en ‘The Journey Home’ bestaat, is een van de meest spectaculaire wedstrijdwerken uitrecente jaren.

Explorers on the Moon, komponiert von Paul Raphael, entstand 2019 anlässlich des 50. Jahrestages der Mondlandung (1969) und ist die Fortsetzung seines 2017 erschienenen Werkes Destination Moon. Das Stück wurde von dem belgischen Autor Hergé und seiner berühmtesten Erfindung, Tim und Struppi, inspiriert. Die Musik orientiert sich an Hergés Geschichte aus dem Jahr 1950, in der Tim und seine Begleiter als erste Menschen den Mond betreten fast zwanzig Jahre vor der ersten Mondlandung. Dieses fantastische Stück besteht aus drei Sätzen: Space“, Nightmare Land“ und The Journey Home“. Es zählt zu den spektakulärsten Wettbewerbsstücken der letzten Jahre.

Écrite par Paul Raphael en 2019 pour marquer le 50e anniversaire des premiers hommes sur la lune, en 1969, Explorers on the Moon fait suite Destination Moon, du même compositeur. Cette nouvelle œuvre s’inspire de l’auteur belge Hergé et de sa création la plus célèbre, Tintin. La musique est fondée sur l’histoire de On a marché sur la Lune, qui fait suite Objectif Lune, histoire écrite en 1950 anticipant la réalité de près de vingt ans , qui raconte l’aventure de Tintin et de ses compagnons sur notre satellite. Cette œuvre remarquable en trois mouvements (« Space », « Nightmare Land » et « The Journey Home ») est une des pièces de concours les plusspectaculaires de ces dernières années.

SKU: PR.114418600

ISBN 9781491111543. UPC: 680160642656.

Telem ann for Two Volume I, Fantasias 1-6 arranged for Two FlutesWhat could be more delightful than playing Telemann duets, or playing the Telemann Fantasias? Sharon Sparrow and Jeffery Zook have created a remarkable set of duet adaptations of the Fantasias,sounding as if Telemann himself had composed them as two-part inventions. The original Telemann works are shared between the two players, mixed with counterpoint to enhance the authentic solo works. The result is equally suitable for formal recitals and recreational duet playing! The present publication includes two performance scores of their settings of Fantasias 1-6, with a Volume II to include Fantasias 7-12.____________________ __________________Text from the scanned back cover:SHARON SPARROW is Assistant Principal Flute of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She began musical studies on piano at age four, but it was the flute that led her to the Juilliard School for a Bachelor degree with Julius Baker. She received her Master’s degree with Thomas Nyfenger at the Mannes College of Music. Sharon’s professional career began in the Memphis Symphony, followed by tenured positions in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Detroit Symphony, and guest positions in the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Baltimore, Chicago, and Pittsburgh Symphonies. In 2016, Presser published her successful audition training book, 6 Weeks to Finals, and she is a much sought after coach for audition candidates across the country, as well as a frequent Master Class clinician at major schools including Boston University and Peabody Conservatory.JEFFERY ZOOK has been a member of the Detroit Symphony since1992. His formal musical studies began at Interlochen and continued at University of Michigan and the Royal Academy of Music in London. His teachers have included William Bennett and Trevor Wye. A prize winner in the NFA Young Artists Competition, Mr. Zook made his solo debut with the Detroit Symphony as a senior in high school, and has since performed all the Vivaldi concerti with them. He has recorded extensively for MusicMinus One and performed frequently at NFA conventions, including the concerto gala in 2017. Mr. Zook has served on the faculty at University of Michigan and Oakland University. In 2002 Zook and Sharon Sparrow founded the Detroit Flute Connection, a series of masterclasses for flutists.

SKU: HL.44010867

UPC: 884088578527. 9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dut ch-Japanese.

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) schreef de ouverture Le Corsaire (De zeerover) in Nice, in het jaar 1844. De eerste uitvoering vond plaats onder de titel La tour de Nice (De toren van Nice). Pas later kreeg het werk de naamLe Corsaire, waarschijnlijk naar een gedicht van Lord Byron, voor wie Berlioz veel bewondering had. De originaliteit van deze ouverture wordt alom geprezen. De muziek is van een energieke levendigheid die aanstekelijk werkt.Niet voor niets is Le Corsaire nog altijd een van de populairste orkestwerken van Berlioz.

Hector Berlioz schrieb diese Ouvertüre mit dem ursprünglichen Titel La Tour de Nice (Der Turm von Nizza) im Jahre 1844 in selbiger Stadt und benannte sie erst spater um, vermutlich nach einem Gedicht von Lord Byron, den er sehr verehrte. Die Ouvertüre wurde von Anfang an für ihre Originalitat und Lebendigkeit gelobt. So ist es kein Wunder, dass Le Corsaire, das hier in einer Transkription des Tohru Takahashi vorliegt, auch heute noch zu den beliebtesten Werken von Berlioz gehort.

Berlioz ne revele aucun talent musical particulier dans son enfance ; ses parents ne sont pas musiciens. Vers l'age de treize ans, il apprend a jouer de la flute a bec et de la guitare et prend des cours de chant. En 1821, il s'installe a Paris et marche sur les pas de son pere en suivant un temps les cours de la Faculte de Medecine. Mais au bout d'un an, et au grand desespoir de ses parents, il abandonne ses etudes et entre au Conservatoire de Paris. Sa passion pour l'actrice irlandaise Harriet Smithson, qu'il epousera quelques annees plus tard (un mariage malheureux), a largement influence sa vie et sa musique. Lorsqu'il remporte le Prix de Rome en 1830, Berlioz avait dejacompose quelques œuvres majeures dont la Symphonie Fantastique. Berlioz devient la figure essentielle du romantisme francais. Ses œuvres sont dominees par ses idees novatrices.La premiere version de l'ouverture Le Corsaire remonte a un sejour que Berlioz fit a Nice en 1844. L'œuvre fut donnee en creation sous le titre La Tour de Nice. Par la suite, Berlioz remania sa composition et lui donnera son titre definitif Le Corsaire. La reference au roman poetique de Lord Byron a qui le compositeur vouait une grande admiration, reste une supposition qui ne fait pas l'unanimite.Cette ouverture fut particulierement saluee pour son originalite. La musique deborde d'energie et les effets sont fantastiques. Il n'est donc pas surprenant de constater que Le Corsaire est une des œuvres orchestrales les plus connues et les plus jouees de Berlioz.

SKU: PR.31241902S

UPC: 680160690589. English.

Commission ed by the San Francisco Choral Society and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Terra Nostra is a 70-minute oratorio on the relationship between our planet and humankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. Part I: Creation of the World explores various creation myths from different cultures, culminating in a joyous celebration of the beauty of our planet. Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines human achievements, particularly since the dawn of our Industrial Age, and how these achievements have impacted the planet. Part III: Searching for Balance questions how to create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. In addition to the complete oratorio, stand-alone movements for mixed chorus, and for solo voice with piano, are also available separately.
Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between our planet and mankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. The oratorio is divided into three parts:Part I: Creation of the World celebrates the birth and beauty of our planet. The oratorio begins with creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt that are integrated into the opening lines of Genesis from the Old Testament. The music surges forth from these creation stories into “God’s World” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which describes the world in exuberant and vivid detail. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “On thine own child” praises Mother Earth for her role bringing forth all life, while Walt Whitman sings a love song to the planet in “Smile O voluptuous cool-breathed earth!” Part I ends with “A Blade of Grass” in which Whitman muses how our planet has been spinning in the heavens for a very long time.Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines the achievements of mankind, particularly since the dawn of the Industrial Age. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” sets an auspicious tone that mankind is on the verge of great discoveries. This is followed in short order by Charles Mackay’s “Railways 1846,” William Ernest Henley’s “A Song of Speed,” and John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s “High Flight,” each of which celebrates a new milestone in technological achievement. In “Binsey Poplars,” Gerard Manley Hopkins takes note of the effect that these advances are having on the planet, with trees being brought down and landscapes forever changed. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Dirge” concludes Part II with a warning that the planet is beginning to sound a grave alarm.Part III: Searching for Balance questions how we can create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. Three texts continue the earth’s plea that ended the previous section: Lord Byron’s “Darkness” speaks of a natural disaster (a volcano) that has blotted out the sun from humanity and the panic that ensues; contemporary poet Esther Iverem’s “Earth Screaming” gives voice to the modern issues of our changing climate; and William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” warns us that we are almost out of time to change our course. Contemporary/agrarian poet Wendell Berry’s “The Want of Peace” speaks to us at the climax of the oratorio, reminding us that we can find harmony with the planet if we choose to live more simply, and to recall that we ourselves came from the earth. Two Walt Whitman texts (“A Child said, What is the grass?” and “There was a child went forth every day”) echo Berry’s thoughts, reminding us that we are of the earth, as is everything that we see on our planet. The oratorio concludes with a reprise of Whitman’s “A Blade of Grass” from Part I, this time interspersed with an additional Whitman text that sublimely states, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…”My hope in writing this oratorio is to invite audience members to consider how we interact with our planet, and what we can each personally do to keep the planet going for future generations. We are the only stewards Earth has; what can we each do to leave her in better shape than we found her?

SKU: PR.312419020

ISBN 9781491131862. UPC: 680160680474. 6.875 x 10.5 inches. English.

Commission ed by the San Francisco Choral Society and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Terra Nostra is a 70-minute oratorio on the relationship between our planet and humankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. Part I: Creation of the World explores various creation myths from different cultures, culminating in a joyous celebration of the beauty of our planet. Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines human achievements, particularly since the dawn of our Industrial Age, and how these achievements have impacted the planet. Part III: Searching for Balance questions how to create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. In addition to the complete oratorio, stand-alone movements for mixed chorus, and for solo voice with piano, are also available separately.
Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between our planet and mankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. The oratorio is divided into three parts:Part I: Creation of the World celebrates the birth and beauty of our planet. The oratorio begins with creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt that are integrated into the opening lines of Genesis from the Old Testament. The music surges forth from these creation stories into “God’s World” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which describes the world in exuberant and vivid detail. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “On thine own child” praises Mother Earth for her role bringing forth all life, while Walt Whitman sings a love song to the planet in “Smile O voluptuous cool-breathed earth!” Part I ends with “A Blade of Grass” in which Whitman muses how our planet has been spinning in the heavens for a very long time.Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines the achievements of mankind, particularly since the dawn of the Industrial Age. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” sets an auspicious tone that mankind is on the verge of great discoveries. This is followed in short order by Charles Mackay’s “Railways 1846,” William Ernest Henley’s “A Song of Speed,” and John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s “High Flight,” each of which celebrates a new milestone in technological achievement. In “Binsey Poplars,” Gerard Manley Hopkins takes note of the effect that these advances are having on the planet, with trees being brought down and landscapes forever changed. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Dirge” concludes Part II with a warning that the planet is beginning to sound a grave alarm.Part III: Searching for Balance questions how we can create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. Three texts continue the earth’s plea that ended the previous section: Lord Byron’s “Darkness” speaks of a natural disaster (a volcano) that has blotted out the sun from humanity and the panic that ensues; contemporary poet Esther Iverem’s “Earth Screaming” gives voice to the modern issues of our changing climate; and William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” warns us that we are almost out of time to change our course. Contemporary/agrarian poet Wendell Berry’s “The Want of Peace” speaks to us at the climax of the oratorio, reminding us that we can find harmony with the planet if we choose to live more simply, and to recall that we ourselves came from the earth. Two Walt Whitman texts (“A Child said, What is the grass?” and “There was a child went forth every day”) echo Berry’s thoughts, reminding us that we are of the earth, as is everything that we see on our planet. The oratorio concludes with a reprise of Whitman’s “A Blade of Grass” from Part I, this time interspersed with an additional Whitman text that sublimely states, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…”My hope in writing this oratorio is to invite audience members to consider how we interact with our planet, and what we can each personally do to keep the planet going for future generations. We are the only stewards Earth has; what can we each do to leave her in better shape than we found her?

SKU: PR.31241902A

UPC: 680160690510. English.

Commission ed by the San Francisco Choral Society and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Terra Nostra is a 70-minute oratorio on the relationship between our planet and humankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. Part I: Creation of the World explores various creation myths from different cultures, culminating in a joyous celebration of the beauty of our planet. Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines human achievements, particularly since the dawn of our Industrial Age, and how these achievements have impacted the planet. Part III: Searching for Balance questions how to create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. In addition to the complete oratorio, stand-alone movements for mixed chorus, and for solo voice with piano, are also available separately.
Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between our planet and mankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. The oratorio is divided into three parts:Part I: Creation of the World celebrates the birth and beauty of our planet. The oratorio begins with creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt that are integrated into the opening lines of Genesis from the Old Testament. The music surges forth from these creation stories into “God’s World” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which describes the world in exuberant and vivid detail. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “On thine own child” praises Mother Earth for her role bringing forth all life, while Walt Whitman sings a love song to the planet in “Smile O voluptuous cool-breathed earth!” Part I ends with “A Blade of Grass” in which Whitman muses how our planet has been spinning in the heavens for a very long time.Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines the achievements of mankind, particularly since the dawn of the Industrial Age. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” sets an auspicious tone that mankind is on the verge of great discoveries. This is followed in short order by Charles Mackay’s “Railways 1846,” William Ernest Henley’s “A Song of Speed,” and John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s “High Flight,” each of which celebrates a new milestone in technological achievement. In “Binsey Poplars,” Gerard Manley Hopkins takes note of the effect that these advances are having on the planet, with trees being brought down and landscapes forever changed. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Dirge” concludes Part II with a warning that the planet is beginning to sound a grave alarm.Part III: Searching for Balance questions how we can create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. Three texts continue the earth’s plea that ended the previous section: Lord Byron’s “Darkness” speaks of a natural disaster (a volcano) that has blotted out the sun from humanity and the panic that ensues; contemporary poet Esther Iverem’s “Earth Screaming” gives voice to the modern issues of our changing climate; and William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” warns us that we are almost out of time to change our course. Contemporary/agrarian poet Wendell Berry’s “The Want of Peace” speaks to us at the climax of the oratorio, reminding us that we can find harmony with the planet if we choose to live more simply, and to recall that we ourselves came from the earth. Two Walt Whitman texts (“A Child said, What is the grass?” and “There was a child went forth every day”) echo Berry’s thoughts, reminding us that we are of the earth, as is everything that we see on our planet. The oratorio concludes with a reprise of Whitman’s “A Blade of Grass” from Part I, this time interspersed with an additional Whitman text that sublimely states, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…”My hope in writing this oratorio is to invite audience members to consider how we interact with our planet, and what we can each personally do to keep the planet going for future generations. We are the only stewards Earth has; what can we each do to leave her in better shape than we found her?

SKU: AP.34630

SKU: PR.312419270

ISBN 9781491137918. UPC: 680160692606. English. Charles Mackay.

Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between our planet and mankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. The oratorio is divided into three parts:Part I: Creation of the World celebrates the birth and beauty of our planet. The oratorio begins with creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt that are integrated into the opening lines of Genesis from the Old Testament. The music surges forth from these creation stories into “God’s World” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which describes the world in exuberant and vivid detail. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “On thine own child” praises Mother Earth for her role bringing forth all life, while Walt Whitman sings a love song to the planet in “Smile O voluptuous cool-breathed earth!” Part I ends with “A Blade of Grass” in which Whitman muses how our planet has been spinning in the heavens for a very long time.Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines the achievements of mankind, particularly since the dawn of the Industrial Age. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” sets an auspicious tone that mankind is on the verge of great discoveries. This is followed in short order by Charles Mackay’s “Railways 1846,” William Ernest Henley’s “A Song of Speed,” and John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s “High Flight,” each of which celebrates a new milestone in technological achievement. In “Binsey Poplars,” Gerard Manley Hopkins takes note of the effect that these advances are having on the planet, with trees being brought down and landscapes forever changed. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Dirge” concludes Part II with a warning that the planet is beginning to sound a grave alarm.Part III: Searching for Balance questions how we can create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. Three texts continue the earth’s plea that ended the previous section: Lord Byron’s “Darkness” speaks of a natural disaster (a volcano) that has blotted out the sun from humanity and the panic that ensues; contemporary poet Esther Iverem’s “Earth Screaming” gives voice to the modern issues of our changing climate; and William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” warns us that we are almost out of time to change our course. Contemporary/agrarian poet Wendell Berry’s “The Want of Peace” speaks to us at the climax of the oratorio, reminding us that we can find harmony with the planet if we choose to live more simply, and to recall that we ourselves came from the earth. Two Walt Whitman texts (“A Child said, What is the grass?” and “There was a child went forth every day”) echo Berry’s thoughts, reminding us that we are of the earth, as is everything that we see on our planet. The oratorio concludes with a reprise of Whitman’s “A Blade of Grass” from Part I, this time interspersed with an additional Whitman text that sublimely states, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…”My hope in writing this oratorio is to invite audience members to consider how we interact with our planet, and what we can each personally do to keep the planet going for future generations. We are the only stewards Earth has; what can we each do to leave her in better shape than we found her?

SKU: PR.312419280

ISBN 9781491137925. UPC: 680160692613.

Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between our planet and mankind, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. The oratorio is divided into three parts:Part I: Creation of the World celebrates the birth and beauty of our planet. The oratorio begins with creation myths from India, North America, and Egypt that are integrated into the opening lines of Genesis from the Old Testament. The music surges forth from these creation stories into “God’s World” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which describes the world in exuberant and vivid detail. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “On thine own child” praises Mother Earth for her role bringing forth all life, while Walt Whitman sings a love song to the planet in “Smile O voluptuous cool-breathed earth!” Part I ends with “A Blade of Grass” in which Whitman muses how our planet has been spinning in the heavens for a very long time.Part II: The Rise of Humanity examines the achievements of mankind, particularly since the dawn of the Industrial Age. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” sets an auspicious tone that mankind is on the verge of great discoveries. This is followed in short order by Charles Mackay’s “Railways 1846,” William Ernest Henley’s “A Song of Speed,” and John Gillespie Magee, Jr.’s “High Flight,” each of which celebrates a new milestone in technological achievement. In “Binsey Poplars,” Gerard Manley Hopkins takes note of the effect that these advances are having on the planet, with trees being brought down and landscapes forever changed. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “A Dirge” concludes Part II with a warning that the planet is beginning to sound a grave alarm.Part III: Searching for Balance questions how we can create more awareness for our planet’s plight, re-establish a deeper connection to it, and find a balance for living within our planet’s resources. Three texts continue the earth’s plea that ended the previous section: Lord Byron’s “Darkness” speaks of a natural disaster (a volcano) that has blotted out the sun from humanity and the panic that ensues; contemporary poet Esther Iverem’s “Earth Screaming” gives voice to the modern issues of our changing climate; and William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” warns us that we are almost out of time to change our course. Contemporary/agrarian poet Wendell Berry’s “The Want of Peace” speaks to us at the climax of the oratorio, reminding us that we can find harmony with the planet if we choose to live more simply, and to recall that we ourselves came from the earth. Two Walt Whitman texts (“A Child said, What is the grass?” and “There was a child went forth every day”) echo Berry’s thoughts, reminding us that we are of the earth, as is everything that we see on our planet. The oratorio concludes with a reprise of Whitman’s “A Blade of Grass” from Part I, this time interspersed with an additional Whitman text that sublimely states, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…”My hope in writing this oratorio is to invite audience members to consider how we interact with our planet, and what we can each personally do to keep the planet going for future generations. We are the only stewards Earth has; what can we each do to leave her in better shape than we found her?