Hymn to Night - COC Free Concert November 27, 2007

GGS New Music Ensemble
Brian Current, conductor
presents

Hymn to Night
In celebration of the 75th birthday of R. Murray Schafer, the talented young musicians of the GGS New Music Ensemble (Brian Current, conductor) present Hymn to Night, an evocative voyage of the soul inspired by a text by the German Romantic poet, Novalis.

The poem begins with a paean to light before turning to “the holy, ineffable night” and the eternal sleep that accompanies it. A recording of an Aeolian harp added to the orchestra helps create the mood.

“I remember the night I began to work on Hymn to Night. I couldn’t sleep and got up to read something. Novalis’ poem was close at hand and before I had even finished it I had set the first stanzas to music. I t was one of those rare experiences when music surges out unstoppably. The whole work took form that night.” (R. Murray Schafer)

Official Website: http://www.coc.ca/performances/concerts_november07.html