Brian Current

The River of Light is a multi-movement cycle for soloists, choir and orchestra. The music is about transcendence and is based on the texts of writers for from various traditions (Jewish, Chinese, Indigenous Canadian, Secular, Christian, Islamic and Hindu) that describe mystical journeys towards an exalted state. The premiere performance was by the Vancouver Bach Choir and Orchestra at the Vancouver Opera Festival on May 3 of 2019, conducted by Leslie Dala. The cycle is modeled on the religious oratorios of the past while celebrating the diverse beliefs of the urban communities of North America today. The work is inspired by Dante's vision in the Paradiso where he enters the glowing core of heaven and declares: “And I saw a light in the form of a river, radiant as gold,”. Canadian writers from diverse backgrounds were asked: “What do you have in your tradition that resembles Dante’s vision?” and each has produced a beautiful text based on early scriptures and beliefs from their respective traditions. The goal of the oratorio is not only to create a musical journey through these wonderful texts, but also to show that no matter where we come from, or to whom we pray to, a profound fascination with transcendence into light permeates nearly all our religious beliefs and unites us.

Part I: The Heavenly Halls The first movement is based on The Zohar, the most mysterious text of the Jewish Kaballah. Adapted by Anton Piatigosky, it describes the tenor’s progression through three of The Seven Heavenly Halls. Depending on the hall and the performer, the Tenor voice will likely need to be slightly amplified. The stand-alone version of this movement lasts a full half-hour and was commissioned and premiered by the Montreal Symphony and Chorus through the Azrieli Foundation and its inaugural Commissioning Prize.

Part II: Heaven’s Eye The second movement for soprano and orchestra is the setting of a text by Chinese-Canadian playwright Marjorie Chan inspired by The Will of Heaven by 4th Century BC Chinese Philosopher Mozi and features a narrator speaking Mozi’s text in Mandarin. It was commissioned through the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University.

Part III: Naka The third movement features Tlicho Dene author Richard Van Camp narrating his own work about the Northern Lights, which shine brightly over his community in The Northwest Territories. I was fortunate to travel on a grant from the Ontario Arts Council to the Yellowknife area to work with Tlicho Dene Elder Rosa Mantla on translation and pronunciation of the choir’s text, which is in Tlicho. Richard, Rosa and other members of their community were celebrated at the premiere of the movement by the Canadian Opera Company and the Elmer Iseler Singers in Toronto. Richard and Rosa (or representatives from the Tlicho community) must be present in the rehearsals and performance to ensure that all proper protocols are followed while working with Indigenous texts and spirituality. The goal of this movement is to provide a supporting role to our Tlicho colleagues so that they can share their stories and language on our stages on their own terms. Soundfiles of Rosa speaking the text are available to help the choir learn the pronunciation. This movement was commissioned by Koerner Hall and the 21C Festival, sponsored by private donors.

Part IV: If Love is Woe The fourth movement features the soprano singing through a delay pedal on a short text by the outstanding Canadian poet Christian Bök. She should sing in a minimalist pop-music style directly into the microphone. The echoes must be crystal clear and sound vividly like the soprano. If either of these requirements are not possible, the echoes may be performed by two soprano soloists from the choir. Supported by a grant from the Toronto Arts Council.

Part V: Magnificat The fifth movement for choir alone is a secularization of the opening eight chords of the Orlando Gibbon’s Magnificat from the Catholic Mass. It was commissioned by the UK choir The Ora Singers (with the support of the Koerner Foundation) as part of their Reflections series, where contemporary composers are asked to create a “reflection” of renaissance choral works. Breathing is staggered throughout. If there is only one voice per line, singers should try to breathe immediately before changing pitch. Singers are optionally invited to play small bells, struck with a metal stick or struck together. These are indicated in the score above each line. They are always l.v. (laissez vibrer) and roughly follow the dynamics of the voices. The pitch of the bells should be very high, within the top octave or so of the piano.

Part VI: Light Upon Light The sixth movement is the setting of a new text by Islamic Canadian poet Rahat Kurd, who is based in Vancouver. As suggested by Rahat, the movement contains passages resembling Qu’uranic recitation sung in Arabic. Supported by a grant from the Ontario Arts Council.

Part VII: Three Fires: Agni, Indra, Surya, Three Rivers of Light The final, larger movement (bookending Part I) is on a text by Hindu poet and composer Sandeep Bhaghwati based on the Rig Veda, the oldest translatable document in existence. It speaks of the SOMA, a spiritual drink thought to give one godlike powers. It has additional movements each based on the three deities Agni, Indra and Surya. Supported by a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. My deepest thanks to all those who have supported the creation of this work: the writers, the performers, the arts councils and foundations, and especially to conductor Leslie Dala for his continued inspiration and support throughout the planning, development and performance of The River of Light.

Brian Current, March 2019