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Voices Raised for Peace
Portland Gay Men's Chorus premieres brave new work
by Rebecca Ragain
hen the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus finished the first
complete run-through of its newest commission,
BraveSouls and Dreamers, several members were crying.
Crying is not an unheard-of reaction to a Portland
Gay Men’s Chorus performance. Ouring the past 27
years, the group has consistently used music as a framework to tackle
complex and emotional topics such as spirituality and the AIDS
epidemic.
Yet BraveSouls and Dreamers is different from other weighty works
the chorus has performed in the past—pieces that hoard president
Dwayne Davis describes as “issue music.” By commissioning and per
forming this new work, the group explores a topic with universal
impact: war and peace.
“What’s so radically different for us about BraveSouls and Dreamers
is that we’re really stepping outside the gay genre into issues that are
geared to absolutely everyone,” says Steve Fulmer, a founding mem
ber of the chorus.
BraveSouls and Dreamers is a full-scale work, 42 minutes long, fea
turing a 25-piece orchestra to accompany the chorus and soloists.
It was created by composer Robert Seeley and librettist Robert
Espindola. During the past 10 years, the Palm Springs, Calif.-based
couple—known to friends as “The Roberts”—have been earning respect
for their collaborative compositions for gay and lesbian choruses.
(Portland audiences might recall the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus
performance last spring of Seeley and Espindola’s Metamorphosis.)
The concept for BraveSouls and Dreamers dates back approximate- •
ly three years. The United States was at war in Iraq, and the chorus’
artistic director, Bob Mensel, felt as if arts communities of all kinds
were accepting the status quo without commenting upon it.
“We wanted to be stewards, speaking not necessarily politically
against war, but to bring it to the forefront,” he says.
Mensel thought the time was ripe for the chorus to address a uni
versal concept that affects people of every sexual orientation. Such
Composer Robert Seeley (left) consults with Portland Gay Men’s
Chorus artistic director Bob Mensel at a work session in Palm
Springs, Calif.
a work would stand in stark contrast to the majority of contemporary
music written for gay choruses, which he calls “gay-centric.”
“We’re all citizens of the universe... we wanted to step outside the
gay circle," he says.
Other leaders of the chorus agreed that addressing the theme of
peace and war was important.
Davis, whose partner sings in the chorus, says: “We’re accustomed to
having to stand up and speak and take on issues that are difficult ones....
When the artistic director proposed [the concept of BraveSouls and
Dreamers), it felt like a natural thing to do."
For Fulmer, who protested the Vietnam War as part of the Portland
Gay Liberation Front in the early 1970s, anti-war sentiments and gay
activism have always gone hand in hand. Although he realizes that
there is still a lot of work to be done before anti-gay prejudice is wiped
out, he also thinks "maybe we can spend some time supporting other
progressive issues.”
When Mensel presented the idea to Espindola and Seeley, they
were eager to lend their respective talents. Seeley says they were
“absolutely on rhe same page."
Espindola, who penned the words to BraveSouls and Dreamers, was
excited by the freedom this work would allow him as a lyricist. For
previous compositions, his process has included interviewing from 60
to 100 people, in order to “get stories to intermingle and blend.” But
in this case, he was able to focus solely on the message, as opposed to
trying to capture the essence of interviewees’ stories.
So instead of doing interviews, Espindola spent long hours
researching the words of the world’s great proponents of peace, such
as Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa. “We want
ed to reawaken the voices of these great peacemakers who in so many
ways have been misinterpreted,” he says.
The resulting lyrics are powerful poetry indeed, heart-wrenching
and inspiring in turn.
“Robert’s lyrics are probably the best he’s ever done,” says Seeley.
“They are so accessible, as a composer I could just run with it.”
Davis adds: “Espindola has the ability to convey emotions and feel
ings and thoughts, intelligent thought, in his poetry. The power of his
lyrics.. .while they’re smart and sharp, they’re also easy to follow.”
Because the work features four pivotal characters—archetypes,
really—Seeley describes BraveSouls and Dreamers as a mini-opera,
rather than a standard choral piece.
Guest artist Jennifer Gill, an award-winning mezzo-soprano who
performs with the Portland Opera, will sing the role of the Mother,
a representation of all the women who have lost children in war. Two
other principal roles are Soldier One and Soldier Two, who suffer and
clash on an unnamed battlefield.
Fulmer will sing the role of the Sage, a character whom Seeley
describes as the voice of peace and to whom Espindola refers as con
science. "The other three soloists sing about how it really is; I sing
about how it is supposed to be,” summarizes Fulmer.
Throughout BraveSouls and Dreamers, the chorus acts as a
Greek chorus, their voices interweaving with passages sung by
the four principal characters.
The chorus acts as a Greek chorus, their voices interweaving with
the passages sung by the four principal soloists/characters. At times
the words are graphic, even gruesome; in fact, Mensel declares them
to be some of the “most daring sets of words in gay music.”
When asked if there was ever a debate during the creative stages
about how provocative the lyrics should be, he replies: “The words
simply are what they are. They are what [Espindola] needed to tell the
story.”
BraveSouls and Dreamers raises many questions: What are the rea
sons for war? What is an “acceptable loss”? It is possible to ever repair
the damage done by war?
Espindola describes his hope for the work: “Ultimately, we want [the
audience] to walk away with a question: What are we doing? How are
we translating peace for this generation and for generations to come?”
Both the composers and Mensel are quick to clarify that
BraveSouls and Dreamers is not a political work. It makes no comment
on the war in Iraq, nor is it criticizing President Bush.
Mensel says the work is “generic” in that it could easily refer to the
Vietnam War, World War II or the Civil War. “It doesn’t as much talk
about or investigate the politics of war; it sings about the human
consequences of war.
The composition poignantly reminds listeners of the lives
consumed by war. As Mensel points out: “People die, children die,
mothers lose the hope of their future. It’s not just statistics on a piece
of paper; they are human beings.”
At its heart, BraveSouls and Dreamers begs the question: Couldn’t
we find a better way?
Davis encourages audience members to do exactly that. “1 would
challenge those who listen to be the next voice who stands and says,
‘Let’s not do this.’ BraveSouls and Dreamers points out that war
is a choice, and asks us to make better choices.” ©
The P ortland G ay M en ’ s C horus presents The Peacemakers, the
final concert of its 27th season hosted by former Oregon Gov. Barbara
Roberts, 7:30p.m. June 16 at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037
S.W. Broadway. Tickets are $20-$30 from 503-226'2588 or
www.pdxgmc.org. A portion of the sales proceeds will be donated to
Mercy Corps.
R ebfxx : a R again is a freelance writer who regularly covers dance and
music for Just Out. She can be reached at rebeccaragain@yahoo.com.
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