“I had the idea that if I looked carefully at every national anthem I might be able to identify something that everyone in the world could agree on. If I could take just one hopeful sentence from the national anthem of every nation in the world I might be able to make a kind of meta-anthem of the things that we all share… Hiding in every national anthem is the recognition that we are insecure about our freedoms,that freedom is fragile, and delicate, and easy to lose. Maybe an anthem is a memory informing a kind of prayer, a heartfelt plea: ‘There was a time when we were forced to live in chains. Please don’t make us live in chains again.'"
- David Lang
With this as inspiration, Lang's piece is surrounded with music of composers representing a diverse mix of world cultures - those far away from Pittsburgh and also very close to home. The musical mosaic will include a mix of choral and chamber music by Chen Yi, Florence Price, James MacMillan, Gabriela Lena Frank, Arvo Pärt, Kaija Saariaho, and many more.
Before each performance, you will have the opportunity to experience a musical prelude and tour of the Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. The Nationality Rooms celebrate the contributions of immigrants from around the world who settled in the Pittsburgh region, and were designed to celebrate highly creative periods in each country's history.
For tickets, visit https://www.resonanceworks.org/tickets
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Heinz Chapel is located on the University of Pittsburgh campus and open to all faiths and backgrounds.
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