The Emergent Universe Oratorio is a dramatic contemporary piece for chorus and orchestra by Sam Guarnaccia that tells the awe-inspiring story of our universe’s origin, evolution, and emergence of life, through to the present environmental and civilizational crises facing our planet. This performance features Albany Pro Musica with the Mostly Modern Orchestra; guest soloists Evangelia Leontis, Elizabeth Eschen Cacciola, Brendan Hoffman, and Joseph Han; the Student Festival Chorus; and orator Rex Smith. The music is enhanced by a lush and evocative visual set design by painter Cami Davis.
During the past month, I spent a great deal of time digesting your Emergent Universe Oratorio, trying to better understand the libretto and the musical poetry that you composed to open our hearts to its message. Different from other conducting experiences, I found that I was still trying to understand this work during and after the performance. There is more than one reason for this, of course, one of them being the reality of my schedule, with the regular APM responsibilities and the added PMICF life-consuming week. But the most important reason is that you have composed a profound, complex, large master work of remarkable beauty. It is no wonder that our choirs, soli, orchestra, orator, and audience were deeply touched by your work.
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
These evocative lines by English poet and painter William Blake were chosen by composer Sam Guarnaccia to close his Emergent Universe Oratorio, a monumental work for chorus, soloists, orator, and orchestra, which opened our summer concert series. Blake’s poem offers spiritual insight into the interconnectedness of the universe, encouraging a deeper appreciation for the vastness of the universe and the divine, and suggesting that these concepts can be found in the smallest, most humble details of life. Throughout his Oratorio, Guarnaccia challenges us to see how “ecological integrity, multi-level justice, and the yearning for peace are not only embodied in the phenomenal patterns and structures of music but empowered by its beauty, and its capacity to slip beneath the analytical mind.”
José Daniel Flores-Caraballo, APM Conductor Opalka Family Artistic Director
Children's Peace Songs