DOUBLE Grammy Award winner Christopher Tin will conduct the European premiere of his majestic work The Drop That Contained The Sea at York Barbican on Saturday night.
At 7.30pm, the 200 voices of Prima Vocal Ensemble, from York, and Angel City Chorale, from Los Angeles, will be accompanied by the Mowbray Orchestra, joined on stage by yet-to-be-confirmed international soloists and York singer Alistair McQueen, who has been chosen to perform Tin’s ground-breaking piece, Baba Yetu.
The York premiere reunites the two choirs for the first time since the sold-out world premiere of The Drop at Carnegie Hall, New York, in 2014. In addition to the main event, Christopher Tin will host a pre-concert talk from 6pm: a chance to ask the American composer questions about his life, music and accolades, from his Grammys to his John Lennon songwriting award and Horovitz prize. Admission to this intimate session is free but spaces must be pre-booked by emailing prima@gemmusic.co.uk with numbers.
Tin is an alumnus of Stanford, Oxford and the Royal College of Music, in London, and has worked with artists as diverse as Lang Lang and Taylor Swift and now serves as a Governor of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Recording Academy.
His compositions draw on ethnic themes, classical influences, world music and texts both ancient and modern. "The Drop That Contained The Sea comes from a Sufi concept: in the same way that every drop of water contains the essence of the sea, inside every human is the essence of all of humanity,” he says.
Tin's song cycle will be sung in ten languages – Indo-European, Turkish, Bulgarian, Xhosa, Mongolian, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, Old Norse and Lango – weaving together poems and prayers about water from different cultures.
Prima Vocal Ensemble director Ewa Salecka
Its concept is unique: it follows a single drop of water as it weaves its way through the world, from clouds to snow, rivers to oceans, culminating in an explosive rain-making prayer, and this musical travelogue of vocal traditions takes in Bulgarian women's choirs, African gospel, Portuguese fado, Mongolian throat singing, and more besides.
Prima Vocal Ensemble artistic director and producer Ewa Salecka is proud of the York choir's achievement in taking part in Tin's premiere. "To perform such a sweeping, multi-lingual work in so many styles, we are a truly unique community choir," she says.
"To have this opportunity to welcome a ground-breaking composer and the excellent Angel City Chorale to our city is a huge privilege. Christopher's music has a universal effect on absolutely everyone who hears it; you immediately fall in love with the sound. He puts you on such an emotional high and I simply cannot wait to share this experience with the York audience."
The Barbican programme also will feature Aaron Copland's The Promise Of Living, conducted by Ewa Salecka; Randy Newman's Louisiana; David Paich and J Porcaro's Africa and Christopher Tin's Calling All Dawns in Swahili, Japanese, Polish, Hebrew, Farsi, Sanskrit and Maori, conducted by Sue Fink.
Saturday's concert will raise money for Jessie's Fund, the York charity that enhances the quality of life for sick children through the therapeutic use of music, often in children's hospices.
Tickets cost £22.50, £18 or £8 on 0844 854 2757 or at yorkbarbican.co.uk
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