All the Power and Glory - Astar & Mangou

All the Power and Glory, an abridged version for voice and piano Music: Taja Astar & Anna Astar (Astar T&A) Serafeia Mangou, soprano Taja Astar, piano About the piece All the Power and Glory is an antiwar piece for soprano and orchestra. In it, we reflect on things that are common and potentially uniting for people on Earth, and why they always choose to be divided and hostile to each other, in fact, even using these common things, such as longing for creativity and the transcendental, to justify the aggression they channel towards each other. The accompaniment to the song is built on numerous original motives that are composed in different folk traditions. They intertwine to create an organic flow, where the shoots of creativity from various times, continents and peoples co-exist in perfect harmony. This “song of countless voices” is the eternal, universal language that might have been the treasure, cherished by all, and the ground for mutual understanding. The title of the piece refers to the New Testament (Luke 4:6), to the Jesus’ temptation by Satan. While the text in general, as the idea behind the piece, is secular, it metaphorically blames people for claiming authority over the world that existed long before them. For blindly pursuing dominance over their peers through war and violence. For choosing the fleeting “glory” – paid by endless suffering and death – instead of a sustainable and flourishing co-existence. The work is intertextual on many layers. So, it does not only make multiple references to folk music, but also two of the authors’ own pieces that are, in turn, reflections on fundamental topics. One of them is a plaintive lament, tragically inspired by the war in Ukraine. Vocal text (by Anna Astar) all the power and glory you have sought since your hordes were roving in the woods of your nascent world from the beginning of time you've been feeding the earth your pains and your joys wherever you set your foot a song of countless voices grows voices as longing as yours up to the sky it ascends from the seeds of tears as sharp as yours from the seeds of sweat as hot as yours straight to your heart it speaks and still you seek all the power and glory elsewhere all the power and glory you write with your whips on the naked shoulders with the blood that's as red as yours all the power and glory you inscribe on the swords that you raise to bury in the bodies as soft as yours a song of countless voices grows straight to your heart it speaks and still you seek all the power and glory elsewhere ___________________________ Recorded at the vocal masterclass with Peter Mattei, Piteå, June 2023