This musical work is Linsey Pollak – Live Looping endangered animal calls using
midi wind controller, with Lizzie O’Keefe – voice.
Once upon a time there was a planet called Earth. During many millions
of years a rich, complex and beautiful ecosystem developed with an
incredible variety of lifeforms. Over time one of the animal species in
this ecosystem became dominant and their impact on the planet was so
massive that many of the other species could no longer survive and
became extinct. We take up the story during this extinction period, but
the story is not told with words, as words have fallen on too many deaf
ears for too long and people have stopped listening. The story is told
through sound, through the voices of the animals themselves that are
endangered. These animal calls speak directly to the heart in a way
that words cannot. They are joined by one lone human voice, a voice of
empathy, using no words but conversing and intertwining with the calls
of the animals. There is no narrative, we already know most of the
story, even if we choose to ignore it and don’t know the ending. So
this piece is a song for the Planet, an inter-species choral work, and
they’re singing for their lives! If their calls don’t affect you then
nothing will.