Harmonium sings for the mother ship, in Morristown
By Marion Filler | Morristown Green
Planet earth was a star this weekend.
The Harmonium Choral Society called its stellar show Earthsongs, and the sanctuary at the Morristown United Methodist Church provided the perfect space and acoustics for a hundred singers to raise their voices with a message:
The earth is in trouble and we need to fix it.
Harmonium Choral Society at the Morristown United Methodist Church, June 3, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin.
Sixteen compositions by a Who’s Who of the choral music world conveyed the warning in a variety of ways, as slides were projected on the wall.
The most original piece was Water by Anders Edenroth, a Swedish composer who describes the piece as “a poetic and philosophical perspective on the transparent matter so essential to the survival of every living creature. Some of us take it for granted, other perish from the lack of it.”
THE BOTTLE SECTION: Harmonium Choral Society members ‘hit the bottle’ at the Morristown United Methodist Church, June 3, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin.
Experimenting with special effects, this number was accompanied by plastic water bottles–five choir members blew into bottles “tuned” with different amounts of water– as if to emphasize the composer’s point.
The Blue Eye of God, a sad, magnificent poem by Barbara Powis, inspired Nancy Telfer to compose music that captured the decimation of aquatic life: The swirling seas, the terrible waste of slaughtered dolphins and whales, oil covered waterfowl struggling to survive, were unforgettable.
Stomping, clapping, waving hands, head rolls and even a mini wave were incorporated by the chorus in Kasar Mie La Gaji, by Alberto Grau.
The phrase means “the earth is tired” and is used by inhabitants of the African Sahel to describe the challenging swath of land between the Sahara desert in the north and the lush savannahs of the south.
Holding his own among the pros was Gabriel Tarrow, 14, the first-prize winner of Harmonium’s annual high school choral composition contest. A freshman at Columbia High School in Maplewood, he began playing the piano when he was 4, and started composing at the age of 6.
Music from the Baroque era has become a source of inspiration for Tarrow, and is reflected in Wind, the composition that earned him the top spot. Lyrics are from a poem of the same name, by Harlem Renaissance poet Gwendolynn Bennett.
Tenor James Brannigan, a Harmonium singer since the competition originated in 1998, said he had never heard a young contestant who could combine such proficiency with an interest in period music.
Describing Tarrow as “very, very talented,” Harmonium Artistic Director Anne Matlack added: “I’m hoping we will hear from him again.”
The honor of hearing his piece performed by Harmonium was not wasted on Tarrow.
“It’s very, very close to how I imagined it would be. This is the first time more than eight people have heard my work,” he said, acknowledging being “blown away” by the event.
So was his family. His grandparents traveled from Ithaca, NY, and Key West, FL, for Saturday’s concert, and coach Nicholas Diaz also was on hand to congratulate his pupil.
Information and refreshments were available for the audience.
Tables from the Morristown Shade Tree Commission, the Morris Township Environmental Commission, Save the Drew Forest, and Citizens Climate Lobby enlisted support for their missions.
Hailey Brock, proprietress of The Nature of Reading Bookshop in Madison, started her business as a pop-up, but has graduated to permanent digs on 22 Main St. She specializes in books that focus on the environment.
EarthAware, the environmental awareness and climate justice ministry of the Methodist Church, is pursuing a “No Idling” campaign to cut down pollution. The concept is certainly not new, but David Okada and Leslie Raff have some ideas on how to make it more effective.
“It all depends on how you do it,” said Okada.
Buses that run on diesel fuel are among the worst offenders, and he is working with the state to educate the bus companies. School boards are another point of contact, especially when made aware of the noxious fumes that are often at child-level. Spiffy new signage will be made available to schools and libraries to promote the concept.
Big Yellow Taxi by the marvelous Joni Mitchell closed out the concert.
It was the perfect takeaway, simple and direct, summing up what Earthsongs was all about.
“They paved paradise, put up a parking lot,” the song says, and repeats the classic refrain: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?”
