Robert Kyr: A Time for Life
$9.98 – $17.98
An environmental oratorio by composer Robert Kyr, commissioned by Cappella Romana in 2007 and now recorded for the first time, this work explores the urgent issue of ecological crisis caused by humanity s inability to live in harmony with the natural world.
A Time for Life draws from texts in Greek Orthodoxy, the Bible, and Native American prayers with an ultimately optimistic approach. The work traces a journey from the glory of Creation through potential modern destruction to a hopeful future, in which humanity serves as a responsible steward of the earth and thus realigns itself with the creative forces of existence, resulting in a spiritual awakening that leads from a state of division and separation to the way of unity and wholeness.
Kyr’s music wept for the Earth. It shuddered and then grew stronger, blooming into beauty before evaporating in silence.
—The Oregonian
- i. Prologue Audio Player
- ii. Proclaiming Audio Player
- iii. Arriving Audio Player
- iv. Praising Audio Player
- v. Trembling Audio Player
- vi. Rejoicing
- i. Prologue Audio Player
- ii. Supplication I: We Ignore Your Word Audio Player
- iii. Witness I: Look and Behold Audio Player
- iv. Supplication II: We Devour Your Forest Audio Player
- v. Witness II: Breathe and Remember Audio Player
- vi. Supplication III: We Defile Your Oceans Audio Player
- vii. Witness III: The Survivor Audio Player
- viii. Supplication IV: We Destroy Nature Audio Player
- ix. Witness IV: Howl, You Shepherds! Audio Player
- x. Supplication V: We Pollute the Air Audio Player
- xi. Witness V: The Joyless Land Audio Player
- xii. Supplication VI: The Dying Planet Audio Player
- xiii. Witness VI: The Sacred Way
- i. Dance of Life Audio Player
- ii. Canticle of Life; First Soliloquy Audio Player
- iii. First Canons Audio Player
- iv. Chorale, First Verse Audio Player
- v. Second Soliloquy Audio Player
- vi. Chorale, Second Verse Audio Player
- vii. Second Canons Audio Player
- viii. Third Soliloquy Audio Player
- ix. Chorale, Third Verse Audio Player
- x. Third Canons Audio Player
- xi. First Chorale Audio Player
- xii. Epilogue
Part 1: Creation
Audio PlayerPart 2: Forgetting
Audio PlayerPart 3: Remembering
Audio PlayerMusicWeb International
There can be no questioning Kyr’s skill as a composer. Just listen to the first five minutes, as singers enter one-by-one — there are only eight — to the accompaniment of a single solitary cello… Speaking of the choir, the Cappella Romana here demonstrates why it has a devoted fan-base in the Pacific Northwest and, via records, across the globe. There is not a weak link or uninteresting voice among these eight singers ” –Brian Reinhart
Oregon ArtsWatch
For music to come across like this, composers and performers need each other, and Cappella Romana’s performance was masterly. Balance and blend were top-notch at all times. ” –Jeff Winslow
Classical Net
great religious music, really great religious music, touches us all through beauty, musical thought, and sincerity of purpose. Therefore, this project is not only a major statement of ecumenical ideals, but also a major musical statement. ” –Brian Wigman
Fanfare
The florid music of this 2007 piece is often magical in its effect … There is no doubt that Kyr writes from the heart. His concerns are of concern to us all. A blessedly poignant, timely disc, beautifully produced ” –Colin Clarke
Leitourgeia kai Qurbana
It is nice to see Cappella championing repertoire like this; it demonstrates an impressive artistic vision. Happily, the performance on the disc demonstrates a very real breadth of ability that is equal to that vision ” –Richard Barrett
