2022
SATB; perc/org
20:00
Commissioned by Kings Place, London. Co-Commissioned by The Cork International Choral Festival/Chamber Choir Ireland with funds from The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaion and Carnegie Hall.
2021
For four Choruses (SATB), solo Soprano, and Orchestra
49:00
Commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra.
“John Luther Adams’ powerful new work grieves for the loss of animals and plants – including with a recreation of extinct birdsong – while asserting that Earth will live on.” — Andrew Clements, The Guardian
"At his best, Adams draws our attention to how inseparable human life is from the rest of our planet." — Rebecca Franks, The Sunday Times
Earth, nothing more. Earth, nothing less.
And let that be enough for you.
— Pedro Salinas
Vespers are night prayers. My distant model was the Vespers of Monteverdi. But rather than prayers to the blessed virgin, these are vespers to the blessed earth.
A Brief Descent into Deep Time traverses two-billion years of earth’s history, through the names, colors, and ages of the geologic layers of the Grand Canyon.
A Weeping of Doves is grounded on the calls of the beautiful fruit dove (Ptilinopus pulchellus), native to the tropical rainforests of Papua New Guinea.
On summer evenings, bright clouds sometimes appear on the horizon, pulsing with color as if illuminated from within. As we pollute the atmosphere more and more, Night-Shining Clouds become more widespread, and as the sun sets on carbon-burning culture, the earth just grows more beautiful.
The text of Litanies of the Sixth Extinction is entirely in Latin, the scientific binomials of 193 critically threatened and endangered species of plants and animals, ending with Homo sapiens.
Aria of the Ghost Bird is my setting of the call of the now-extinct Kauaʻi ʻŌʻō (Moho braccatus), transcribed from a recording of the last male of the species, singing for a mate who would never come.
2013
For four choirs and vocal soloists.
75:00
Commissioned by Chamber Choir Kamer and The Crossing Choir.
“[A] hypnotic and ethereally beautiful invocation of wind, sky and birdsong … Adams’s “Canticles” seems to achieve a new symbiosis, folding natural sounds into mathematically ordered patterns. The resulting music combines the pristine freshness of nature with the sheltering symmetries of Gothic architecture.” - New York Times
“…the sense of space is an Adams thumbprint — as is the spiritual aura that comes as a consequence.” - Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
1984
Poems by John Haines.
For vocal soloists (SATB), chorus (SATB) and chamber orchestra.
25:00
Commissioned by the Arctic Chamber Orchestra.
Recorded on Owl Recording.
“…sensitive, stately, solemn, dramatic… Forest Without Leaves deserves a wider hearing.” - Option
“…Forest Without Leaves is a work which is both moving and coherent, with a message whose time has come.” - Chorus!
1976
For antiphonal choirs (SATB), solo soprano, harp, percussion.
15:00
Commissioned by the Atlanta Singers
Recorded on New Albion Records.
“…Night Peace is what new choral music is all about.” - John Schaefer, NPR