For Our Common Home | lindajchase

For Our Common Home

Resounding Ecojustice

An oratorio by Linda J. Chase

Libretto adapted from

Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical,Laudato Si’

origin & inspiration

I was commissioned by world-renowned theologian Harvey Cox to compose an oratorio based on Laudato Si’ which addresses the impact of the environmental crisis on the most vulnerable communities. Highlighting compassion and solidarity, this quote from the encyclical spoke to me:

Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity,

but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover

what each of us can do about it.

(Pope Francis)

I began writing in 2020. That summer, protests around the world accelerated with the Movement for Black Lives and response to George Floyd’s murder. For many, the uprising in the streets was the first time we gathered since the beginning of the pandemic, coming together to demand that “injustice can be defeated in the land.”
The text of Laudato Si' speaks out against systems of oppression and reminds us that all are siblings. It challenged me to write music that could invite conversations addressing injustice and rebuilding our common home. Retreating from my crowded house (with the piano next to the kitchen table), I spent winter on the New England coast reflecting on environmental justice, the plight of climate refugees, and questions of responsibility. Tuning in to the Earth that sustains us and listening to the waves and wind, I reflected on the text: "May our struggles and concern for our planet never take away the joy of our hope. Let us sing as we go."

Program Notes

This cross-genre oratorio for chorus, soloists and chamber orchestra draws from sacred music, contemporary classical, jazz, gospel

and klezmer traditions. Instrumental interludes lead the listener from one movement to the next guiding shifts in

mood or harmony, and inviting a moment to reflect on the text which has just been sung.

The following recordings include several excerpts and movements from the 23-movement oratorio.

Listen for the “voices of nature” (birdsong, thunder, rain, wildfire and ocean) accompanying some of the movements.

We Come Together

00:00 / 05:34

We come together to care for our home.

We’ve been entrusted to heal and recover.
Journey together in union with all creatures.

SOLOIST Burcu Gulec

Prayer for Our Common Home

00:00 / 03:09

Adapted from, "A Prayer for Our Earth", Laudato Si'

SOLOIST J’adon Brooks

All powerful God, you are present in the universe In the smallest of your creatures you embrace so tenderly Oh God of the poor, help us rescue the forgotten ones Bringing healing to our lives so we protect and not destroy Pour out upon us the power of your love That we protect life’s beauty Fill us with courage that we may walk in harmony Oh God, touch our hearts to seek awe and contemplation, To unite with every being as we journey through the light. Justice is peace

pic of Jadon on word _harmony_ eyes closed.png

Harmonize

00:00 / 04:57

Harmonize with creation, contemplate awaken

SOLOIST Carla Kihlstedt

Serene harmony Contemplate the lilies of the field, serene Find peace in caring through ecology The common good in making harmony Deeper understanding, nurturing, wondering Chickadee, turning leaves Awake, awaken reverence Our eyes are opened to the mystery And our capacity to hear creation audibly Singing words of love Sounding, Listening Harmonize with creation, contemplate awaken God among us god surrounds us not contained but uncovered

GOD OF CREATION

SOLOIST J’adon Brooks

God of Creation, God of Liberation Help us find strength in tribulation God of creation, God of liberation Empower the people, defeat injustice, arise, rise up! God of creation, God of liberation You give endurance to stand up to oppression God of creation, God of liberation Freedom and justice, you call us to seek, arise! rise up! God of creation, God of liberation Sea, wind and sky bring messages from heaven Lead us to wisdom of all relations God of creation God of liberation Teach us to listen to rhythms of the seasons God of creation, God of liberation Hearing the cries responding with compassion God of creation, God of liberation Painter of sunrise, flocking jubilation Walking in beauty, collaboration God of creation, God of liberation Sounding the call to restore our freedom God of creation, God of liberation Renew our lives igniting faith in action Rise up! Arise!

Sister Cries Out

00:00 / 04:38

A call and response duet express the crying of the earth. The choir whispers names of endangered species while recordings of whale, whooping crane, penguin, and cheetah sound those voices.
Species go extinct

#MeToo

SOLOISTS Sarah Matsushima & Carla Kihlstedt

Sister cries out, she has been misused. Sister cries out, she has been abused. Destruction, devastation, deforestation Pollution, production,injustice, corruption.

We Are Not God

00:00 / 05:03

The piano plays a pensive solo leading to an upbeat contrasting string section with rhythmic urgency. The percussionists crescendo and accelerate intensifying the rhythms and leading the choir to proclaim in full voice We are not God. After trumpet improvisation, the last choral verse climaxes, ending with a crack of thunder.

SOLOISTS Burcu Gulec and J’adon Brooks

The earth was here before us A gift for us to keep To share the fruits with those in need Protect and oversee Another voice proclaims: Unjustified dominion Destroys the bond we seek Respect the laws of nature Take only what you need

Languages of Trees

00:00 / 02:49

Having spent much of my life listening to trees, birds, the river and the sea, I was very inspired by how Pope Francis in Laudato Si describes nature as a book.

"Saint Francis...invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness."

Read the pages, God is speaking Creator speaks in languages of trees Hear the singing of divinity The flowers sing of beauty Read the pages, God is speaking Creator speaks in languages of trees The book in which God speaks Creator writes on pages in the sky and in the sea Read the pages, God is speaking The worlds’ a joyful mystery Nature is singing The book in which God speaks Languages of trees

Gratitude

00:00 / 04:40

"Here I want to recognize, encourage and thank all those striving in countless ways to guarantee the protection of the home which we share. Particular appreciation is owed to those who tirelessly seek to resolve the tragic effects of environmental degradation on the lives of the world’s poorest. Young people demand change. They wonder how anyone can claim to be building a better future without thinking of the environmental crisis and the sufferings of the excluded. I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all. …We require a new and universal solidarity." - From Laudsto Si'

In gratitude and affirmation The work of solidarity The sacrifices taken to heal the suffering So hate and fear may cease, may cease to be. Who work for justice: root of peace With tireless devotion build community Who seek to restore Resolve the causes of suffering Rebuild our common home Reveal the common soul In gratitude we speak Proclaiming equity Faith is turning dreams into deeds The urgency of healing needs A dialogue for all to speak till all are free.

Harvey Cox asked me to write a St. Francis theme-song. I was imagining St. Francis preaching to the flowers and remembered how as a teenager I was captivated by the movie “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” While writing this movement during the summer, sparrows were singing outside my window, and I kept thinking about the gospel hymn “His Eye is On the Sparrow” (Charles H. Gabriel and Civilla D. Martin, 1905).

Brothers and sisters, he called him All of God’s creatures are kin Preach to the flowers they listen Humbly reach out to each person as friend Step by step, stone by stone Walk the walk and build the movement Make me an instrument of your peace It is in giving that we receive Praise be to God for the moon and the stars Praise for the wind and the light and the dark Step by step, stone by stone Walk the walk build the movement Keeping our eyes on the holy, on the sparrow I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free His eyes are on the sparrow and I know he watches me

SOLOISTS J'adon Brooks and Stan Strickland

Where is my Brother

00:00 / 06:01

Where is Your Brother? brings the Cain and Abel story into the present. Asking not only where is your brother, but who is your brother?

SOLOISTS Kyle Seniw & Kat Skafidas

Where is your brother, what have you done? Where is my brother? What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries from the ground. When justice ceases to dwell in the land, life is endangered. Injustice can be defeated in the land. God of creation, God of liberation!

Following the performance, we facilitate discussions with the audience about applying concepts from Laudato Si’ in our own communities. We offer choral and community singing workshops using the For Our Common Home Songbook.

Music can inspire, build bridges

and serve as a vehicle to

invite dialogue.

CREDITS

The ensemble on this recording features many young upcoming musicians, alongside some of Boston’s finest veteran musicians. The Carduus Chamber Choir, directed

by Holly Druckman was formed in 2018 with many recent graduates from

New England Conservatory.

This oratorio was commissioned by theologian/author Dr. Harvey G. Cox who also advised the composer on the text. Dr. Cox taught for fifty years at Harvard College and Divinity School, lectured at the (Jesuit) Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and has been personally received by three popes. He has published eleven books, one of which The Feast of Fools was nominated for the National Book Prize and inspired the musical Godspell. The Secular City was translated into eighteen languages and became an international classic, selling over one million copies.

I am humbled and grateful to the community at Old Cambridge Baptist Church and the many generous donors who supported the recording and premiere performance of For Our Common Home - Resounding Ecojustice. Special thanks to the Inavale Foundation. Thank you with all my heart!

Orchestra

Abigale Reisman, violin

Helen Sherrah-Davies, violin

David Rubin, violin

Bengisu Gokce, violin

Carson McHaney, violin

Beth Abbate, violin

Carla Kihlstedt, violin and voice

Lysander Jaffe, viola

Arjun Mudan, viola

Adithya Muralidharan, cello

Sebastian Ortega, cello