The Fall by Ben Rowarth & Sophia Carr-Gomm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week Stephanie and I were at Wigmore Hall in London for a performance of a new oratorio composed by Ben Rowarth with the libretto written by our daughter Sophia. What a powerful experience this was! The Siglo de Oro choir and ensemble performed the work in the perfect acoustics of the hall, using whispering, loud breathing, full-throated singing, the virtuoso violin of Amy Tress – and pre-recorded sounds – to create an uplifting, and at times ominous, immersive experience that fitted the serious theme of this oratorio: how far have we fallen that we ‘savage our world’?:

Pain done to others
Is pain done to ourselves
May we have the humility to save our home
To save ourselves.

To get to this message, Sophia re-tells the story of the Fall of Troy, confiding to us that she managed to include a reference to the Druid’s Prayer (Strength, Protection, Knowledge):

Of the Gods, there is Apollo
He shines, he is mighty
He protects us
Molton flame
The sinews and curves of his muscular features
Strength, protection and knowledge
Music and poetry, he is a God

I hope this work is filmed and in a future blog I can show you it all, or parts of it. Our world today is so full of ‘resounding gongs and clanging cymbals’ meaning nothing. More than ever we need to hear beautiful and important voices that lift us beyond and through the noise to a realm of deeper meaning.