Dreams Unseen
for soprano and chamber ensemble
Peter Meechan
Ensemble: Chamber Winds
Solo Instrument: Soprano
Grade: 6
Duration: 22:00
Year of Composition: 2021
Commissioned by: University of Manitoba (Jacquie Dawson, director of bands)
Publisher: Peter Meechan
Year of Publication: 2021
Publisher Catalog Number: PMM161
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Publisher, Purchase
Links:
Soprano
Flutes 1,2
Oboe
Bassoon
B♭ Clarinets 1,2
B♭ Trumpets 1,2
F Horn
Trombone
Double Bass
Vibraphone
Commissioned by Jacquie Dawson, Director of Bands, Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba, with funds from the Desautels Faculty of Music, as well as the University of Kansas (Paul Popiel, Director of Bands), and a consortium of commissioning partners.
In three movements:
I. In Silence
II. In Resistance
III. In Hope
Program Notes:
A number of traumatic global events over the past year have tested humanity. The global pandemic, racism, human rights issues, the discovery of thousands of unmarked Canadian Indigenous children’s graves and climate change are testing humans’ willingness to listen, hope and seek change. This three-movement work is a journey through silence, resistance and hope.
Dreams Unseen begs the question, “Are we listening?”
As people around the world endure and cope with significant loss, isolation, uncertainty and fear, Dreams Unseen contemplates the journey through uncertain times and is fraught with the complexities of today. As we continue to endure loss and uncertainty, we must have faith in resilience, goodwill and hope for a brighter future.
(Jacquie Dawson)
When composing Dreams Unseen, I was faced with a variety of decisions and complexities. Initially commissioned with the idea of conveying joy and hope as we emerged, or hoped to emerge, from a pandemic, too much happened around us in the world – locally, globally, and personally – that made the initial goal of the piece something that didn’t represent so much that I saw. This made the selection of texts particularly difficult.
As time passed, the texts originally selected became less and less appropriate to what I wanted to say, and, as the unmarked graves of murdered Indigenous children were uncovered throughout Canada on a daily basis, I felt compelled to move away from joy and the promise of hope to instead write about listening, to put hope in a more fragile, truthful context, to be grateful for those who never gave up, those who stood up in the face of all that was happening – the scientists, the leaders, people we’ve never met, people we know. It felt that the only way I could say all that I wanted to say as a composer was to write my own words.
In the first movement, "In Silence", I ask us not to just hear, but to listen. It is only once we understand the truth that we can truly begin the process of reconciliation. The second movement, "In Resistance", expresses my amazement at those who stood up in these times of adversity – specifically the scientists who saved our lives and those who continue to fight for what it right in the face of a seemingly impossible situation. I continue to believe that, because of those people, love will win, and lyrically I wanted to pay homage to that; The Beatles “In My Life” and Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech are both referenced.
The final movement, "In Hope", also takes existing words as an inspiration. The Rodgers and Hammerstein song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” has been a song so close to my heart throughout my life, in the good times and difficult times alike. None of these times have been more difficult than losing a friend during the pandemic. His fight with cancer was driven by hope. A wonderful musician and human, he would also turn to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” – so I chose this final movement to pay homage to the song, to my dearly missed friend, and to the idea that hope – for a better future, for a win against an almost unstoppable disease, for those whose voice is so often not heard to be listened to, and that Dr. King’s words will come true – is everything.
(Peter Meechan)
