Become Desert
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Become Desert is a composition for choir and orchestra written in 2017 by the American composer John Luther Adams. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the Seattle Symphony with co-commissions from the San Diego Symphony and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Its world premiere was given by the Seattle Symphony conducted by Ludovic Morlot on March 29, 2018. Become Desert is the third part of a musical trilogy, following Adams's Become River (2010) and the Pulitzer Prize for Music-winning Become Ocean (2014).[1]
Background
Become Desert is written in one continuous movement and lasts approximately 40 minutes.
Become Desert was composed following Adams's move from his longtime residence in Alaska to the Sonoran Desert in Mexico. In the score program note, Adams wrote, "I used to say that if I ever left the tundra it would be for the desert. Now, some forty years after first coming to Alaska, I've finally made that move. As I've begun to learn the landforms, the light, the weather, the plants and the birds, I've dreamed of music that echoes this extraordinary landscape."
Having witnessed firsthand the effects of anthropogenic climate change in the Arctic Alaska, the composer found himself ruminating on a quote from François-René de Chateaubriand that became a motivation for the piece: "Forests precede civilizations, and deserts follow."[1] He thus described the piece as "a celebration of the deserts we are given, and a lamentation of the deserts we create."[2]
Instrumentation
The work is scored for SATB chorus and a large orchestra consisting of four flutes, four oboes, four clarinets, four bassoons, eight horns, four trumpets, four trombones, four percussionists, four harps, and strings. The performers are further divided into five groups that surround the audience.[1]