"Northern Lights" by Ēriks Ešenvalds - 18th Street Singers

Описание: "Northern Lights" by Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977)
Text by Charles Francis Hall (1821-1871) and Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930)

Conducted by Sidney Clarke-Lequerique
Solo by Owen Fitzgerald

Solo, from the writings of explorer, diplomat, and refugee advocate Fridtjof Nansen

Cik naksnīnas pret ziemeli How many nights
redzēj' kāvus karojam, against the North wind
Ē, redzēj' kāvus karojam; I saw the Northern Lights fighting;
Karo kāvi pie debesu, Fighting in the sky,
vedīs karus mūs' zemē; the Northern Lights
Ē, vedīs karus mūs' zemē Bring wars to our land

Choir, from the writings of Arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall:
It was night, and I had gone on deck several times.
Iceberg was silent; I too was silent.
It was true dark and cold,
At nine o'clock I was below in my cabin,
When the captain hailed me with the words:
"Come above, Hall, at once! The world is on fire!"
I knew his meaning, and, quick as thought,
I rushed to the companion stairs.
In a moment I reached the deck,
And as the cabin door swung open,
A dazzling light, overpowering light burst upon my startled senses!
Oh, the whole sky was one glowing mass of colored flames, so mighty, so brave!
Like a pathway of light the northern lights seemed to draw us into the sky.
Yes, it was harp-music, wild storming in the darkness;
The strings trembled and sparkled in the glow of the flames
Like a shower of fiery darts.
A fiery crown of auroral light cast a warm glow across the arctic ice.
Again at times it was like softly playing, gently rocking silvery waves
On which dreams travel, into unknown worlds

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18th Street Singers Winter Concert, "Winter's Night"
January 27 & 28, 2024

www.18thstreetsingers.com