|
AT A TIME when we nightly hear of violence at home and
abroad, it seems timely that Vancouver composer Larry Nickel’s
ambitious Requiem for Peace should be gaining prominence.
A concert billed as “one of the most significant
events of the music world” will feature this work, performed by the
Vancouver Bach Choir and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, under conductor
Bruce Pullan, at the Orpheum March 14.
Nickel’s Requiem integrates poetry in 12 languages, in an international
call for reconciliation; it was premiered at the Chan Centre in 2007. The
music is lyrical and intense, concerned with war and the pity of war, but
culminating in a movement which is infused with hope for the future.
Amir Koushkani’s Echo, which draws on both ancient Persian and Western music
traditions, will be premiered at the concert.
A symposium on the themes of Requiem for Peace and Echo will take place at
Christ Church Cathedral, March 10, 7:30 pm.
The composers will introduce their works, and a group
of speakers will examine relevant questions from varying points of view;
the choir will sing excerpts from each of the works.
Tickets for the symposium are $20 adults, $10 students
and seniors, at the door.
– PB
| 
