Forest Song

Listen to the premiere of this work here

Forest Song was commissioned by Choirs Aotearoa for the NZ Youth Choir, NZ Secondary Students' Choir and Voices New Zealand. 

Forest Song is an ode of gratitude to Aotearoa’s native environment. It speaks of the beauty of the deeply reciprocal relationship between the land and its people. It is perhaps this interconnectedness that often makes us feel relaxed, peaceful and at home in nature. The piece is a reminder of our co-dependency with nature and the importance of appreciating and protecting it.

Text written by the composer:

When I came to your shore

I touched an unknown soil

and felt ancient roots crawl beneath my feet.

I placed my ear upon damp ground

and heard my own heart-beat pound

as earth’s great silence listened back.

I pressed my nose against a kauri tree

inhaling, exchanging breath

with the Lord of the Forest.

Now this land is in my every breath,

these trees are my lungs.