E poi le parole: Nature

ICB asks members of the choral world about how a particular word resonates with them. This time, the word is ‘Nature’. Let’s share some inspiring points of view.

When I think about the word Nature it reminds me of the time I spend in the forest picking mushrooms. The day is sunny, sun slips through the branches of the trees. It also reminds me about working in my garden and going to the beach. Izabela Liliana Bien, Music teacher and organist, choir singer, Warsaw, Poland/Melbourne, Australia

Standing outside the 12th century church in our French village after a concert by my Yale Schola Cantorum in happier times, surrounded by the beauties of Nature. We called for silence and listened to the birds – an unforgettable moment! Simon Carrington, conductor, Bradford-on-Avon, England, & Puy Calvel, France

Nature, as it should, permeates every facet of my creative life and is the foundation on which I have constructed most of my work as a composer. I try to immerse myself in it, drinking deeply, as a source of inspiration for my music. Sapiens, inspired by Nature’s perhaps most impressive creation – humankind – is both the title and the framework of my most extensive piece. Especially in this pandemic, Nature beckons with a greater insistence and commands me to disconnect with one world and reconnect with the one that has nourished our species. Sean Hickey, Composer, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Business Development, Naxos of America, Brooklyn, NY, USA

We are part of that wonderful and exciting whole called ‘Nature’. I feel in permanent communion with her at every moment of my life, in admiration and gratitude for each inexplicable and wonderful details that this generous Mother shows me at every step. I surrender to her power when she screams and rages and gives us lessons of humility. She is the greatest teacher we have been granted in our path through this life. María Guinand, IFCM Vice President for Latin America, Artistic Director of the Fundación Schola Cantorum de Venezuela

Van Gogh said: “If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere” and as part of Nature we should try to be more protective. Since my childhood I feel very connected to the black sea forest of eastern Turkey. Ayça Miraç, Jazz singer and voice teacher. Gelsenkirchen, Germany/Istanbul, Turkey

The first thing that comes to mind when I encounter the word Nature is the environment – trees, animals, and different bodies of water and land. Innate and organic – these are two other words I closely associate with Nature which can also be used to describe us and our human activities. Irvinne Redor, Secretary General of the Philippine Choral Directors Association and Owner of The Choir Loft. Manila, Philippines

The word Nature sounds like green to me, like wild herds, waterfalls, and deserts. It sounds like globe, mother, home, memories. It sounds like myself and all others, past and future, ephemeral life, resurrections, and deaths. Yves Ytier, violinist, dancer and choreographer, Köln, Germany/Santiago de Chile, Chile

Untamed and indomitable Nature… the Nature I like best: the Mistral and Tramontana from my Occitane childhood, the Congo River and its tumultuous roaring from my African youth, the equatorial forest and its blazing tornadoes! Wind, water, vegetation, fire: all these elements which form the basis of our essential universe and the movements of our soul, find their breath in music… and it is what calls us on every journey! Yvonne Leyimangoye, choir member of “Le Chant sur la Lowé”, Libreville, Gabon

So beautiful and so pure, so soft and so colourful, it is by your power Mother Nature that our censorship emanates, it is by your emblem that I draw my words, my notes, my voice. You are the dawn that breathes into my soul…I love you. Fabienne Dosseh, chorister, Dakar, Senegal

Edited by Gillian Forlivesi Heywood, Italy/UK