berlied Festival – Hope is a thing with feathers

berlied Festival

Hope Is a Thing with Feathers 
Sophia Stern & Nanami Nomura

What can I expect?
Even after a forest fire, nature can recover. And even after the darkest winter, a bird will sing again. The poet Emily Dickinson encourages us to view the world with an almost absurd sensitivity and sense of wonder. Behind this wonder lies the resilience of hope. 

From the perspective of Aaron Copland’s song cycle *12 Poems of Emily Dickinson* and Ursula Mamlok’s seemingly naive *Four Songs in Miniature*, this concert explores hope as a force inherent in the cycles of life. Those who understand death and transience as part of this cycle discover in them not only farewell, but also the possibility of renewal—and find comfort in this. 

Together with works by other 20th-century American and English composers such as Rebecca Clarke, Jake Heggie, John Cage, and Benjamin Britten, this concert invites you to embark on a cyclical journey—through the seasons, through inner landscapes, through whimsical and playful curiosity and nightmares, all the way to peaceful patience and hopeful renewal.