Voices of PEACE

Welsh-born Grant Llewellyn arrived in Boston to take the helm of the Handel and Haydn Society on a fateful day: September 10, 2001. The next morning he awoke to the devastation of 9/11. “I shared the tragedy with the whole world, but finding myself suddenly in allegiance with a major U.S. arts organization, I was inextricably linked to the experience in a way that, had I remained happily in Wales, I could never have been.” The images took him back to his childhood during the troubles of Ireland and England just across the water. In response to 9/11 and other conflicts raging across the globe, Llewellyn tried to envision something musicians could do to help the world heal.

His answer is Peace, a new CD from the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus. Llewellyn selected music that is hopeful, solemn, and uplifting, a collection of choral works that invites listeners to slow down, reflect, recognize, and appreciate the wonder of life in our world. “The repertoire works for me through the inclusion of compellingly beautiful movements combined with sublime tranquility,” explains Llewellyn. “Music possesses an almost unique ability to convey such emotions, and is surely the best therapy.”

The Peace collection is a far cry from New Age or Indian-influenced meditation CDs. The CD consists of choral work from the classical cannon, including composers such as Rachmaninov, Barber, Schoenberg, and Górecki.To sample the music of Peace, visit www.handelandhaydn.org

—Bess Hochstein

September/October 2004