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Kevin Siegfried: My Peace is Here-2008
My first Ripple Effect piece, Taking the Stage, which was premiered last year by the Nashua Choral Ensemble and members of the NSO, was a lively composition with a bold and assertive text on the subject of identity. This year's Ripple Effect composition, My Peace is Here, is a meditative, prayerful piece that traces one's centering path inward to the ultimate source of peace and serenity. The slow unfolding of the dream-like text alternates with an instrumental ritornello, or refrain, in the string ensemble. The ritornello, which is based on the medieval chant "Da pacem, Domine" (Give peace, O Lord), occurs four times throughout the piece. Presented first by the solo cello, it rises an octave with each appearance. While composing the piece, I had in mind a quote by Jawaharlal Nehru, former Prime Minister of India: "Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people."
- Kevin Siegfried
Mark Winges: A Weaving of Peace-2007
There is a sense of the unknown with any new work of art, or even with older works of art that we experience for the first time. It is less often that the degree of "unknowningness" is as high for the composer as it is for the audience that will hear the piece the first time. However, with A Weaving of Peace, my own level of excitement was heightened more than usual: instead of being able to choose a pre-existing text to fit my musical ideas, I would have to let the texts of these young poets shape the musical sounds. This long-distance collaboration is unusual and provided a different stimulation for my thinking.
As I read through the texts, it occurred to me that I would be weaving a combined viewpoint of peace. Hence the title, which became a concept for the whole work. The poems also suggested how much we all "weave our own peace" in each of our lives, and that the collective choices in the actions we take result in a shared and multi-faceted experience of peace. The differences in locale, natural objects, action and so on showed me how individual every person's peaceful experience is.
Musically, A Weaving of Peace unfolds in three large sections, marked "amiable", "nimble" and "previous pace" in the score. It was interesting to me that several of the poets mentioned dancing as a component of their "peaceable kingdom". That in turn suggested the "nimble" section, which provided contrast against the more placid writing I used in the outer sections.
My thanks to the poets for writing the text, and to Diane Cushing and the Nashua Symphony Orchestra and chorus for the opportunity to be a part of the Ripple Effect.
- Mark Winges
This concert is made possible by an American Masterpieces: NH Connections grant from the NH State Council on the Arts, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, and by the Deluxe Corporation Foundation. The Ripple Effect project is generously funded by the Ella F. Anderson Trust and the NH Charitable Foundation, Nashua Region.
