First Glimpse 2022 - A Few Candles
Music by Gabrielle Herbst
Text by Isabella Dawis
Kofi Hayford, bass
Ron Robinson, piano
A Few Candles explores the psychological effects of climate change, which can surprise us in the smallest of everyday experiences.
Text:
I was at my niece’s birthday party. We turned off the lights. Someone struck a match.
Just a few candles on her cake. Next year, there will be more. And more, and more, and more…
In my mind, the little flames grew into a blaze… burning hotter, till it singed our skin. It overwhelmed us all.
My sweet girl, what will you live to see? What future waits for you? What happiness can survive?
In the dark, we started to sing. She took a breath, made a wish. The flame did not go out.
She looked at me and laughed.
Video - Chris Comfort
Audio - Craig Slon
Production Assistant - Joel Kalow
Recorded on location at South Oxford Space, Brooklyn, NY
Created in Cycle 11 of The American Opera Project’s “Composers & the Voice” Fellowship Training Program
C&V Artistic Director: Steven Osgood
Head of Music: Mila Henry
Head of Drama: Matt Gray
Music Directors: Mila Henry, Kelly Horsted, Ron Robinson
http://aopopera.org/composers-voice
Composers & the Voice is made possible in part by generous multi-year awards from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.