Nature, Voice of Man

A man who becomes a nightingale, flying and singing a sweet, sad song… A man at the brink of despair, begging the winds and the streams to carry his sighs and torments! And a nymph, turned into reeds and given voice once more in the form of a flute. These stories, and more, are brought to life in “Nature, Voice of Man”.

Nature has long served as a mirror, companion, and extension of human emotion. But as our modern world draws us further and further from nature, we lose more and more of this critical connection. We lose a part of our voice. And though we often find ourselves as those giving voice, looking to save nature from the damage that we incur, the baroque repertoire is resplendent with the reverse: stories in which nature gives voice to man.

In “Nature, Voice of Man”, Nari explores these stories in a variety of musical styles and languages, mixing tragedy and comedy, original declaimed texts and historical repertoire. Inviting the audience on a colorful journey that goes into the very depths of the relationship between nature and man, we end with the inevitable question: what is it that we lose when the natural world is no longer a part of our lives?

Twas on a Rivers verdant side, Just at the close of Day a dying Swan with Musick try'd to Chase her cares away. Dying Swan, from “Calliope, or English Harmony”