 L’opéra et la voix constituent l’axe central de la carrière du compositeur anglais, nourri par son expérience d’instrumentiste, d’arrangeur et de répétiteur. Comment raconter l’histoire de la création du monde, se demande Jonathan Dove alors que, immergé dans une installation artistique de James Turrell, il se laisse porter dans les tréfonds de l’univers ? Voix d’enfants et pétillement métallique de percussions émergent spontanément dans son cerveau auditif. Ainsi naît l’idée de cette longue pièce, A Brief History Of Creation, dont les textes, de la plume d’Alasdair Middleton, sont chantés par le Chœur d'enfants Hallé, à l’enthousiasme épatant. Dove, qui se targue d’écrire la musique qu’il aimerait pouvoir entendre, tient un propos direct et d’une clarté sans faille : il se veut proche de la vérité scientifique, même si, au bénéfice du plaisir et de façon arbitraire, des pans entiers de l’histoire sont laissés de côté. Rayonnante célébration de la résilience de la vie, Gaia Theory se fonde sur l’idée, attachante autant que controversée, développée par l’environnementaliste James Lovelock, selon laquelle la Terre s’auto-régule de façon à optimiser l’équilibre de la vie. (Bernard Vincken) Both pieces on this album were inspired by scienti? c ideas about the world we live in. Title track A Brief History of Creation, commissioned by The Hallé Concerts Society for its Children's Choir, is a fantastic romp through 14 billion years of history, from cell division (the choir reduced to one single, tiny voice) to dinosaurs, sharks, monkeys and ?nally to man. The Guardian said of its premiere in 2016 'Dove has a remarkable aptitude for writing music that is challenging to sing, stimulating to listen to, yet simple to remember. The outstanding Hallé Children’s Choir covered almost 14 billion years entirely from memory'. Inspiration for the piece was sparked by a visit to a James Turrell art installation."It gave me the feeling of looking through space to the ?rst stars: it started children’s voices singing in my mind’s ear, surrounded by twinkling percussion. I found myself wondering about the beginning of the universe ... I thought it would be fun to sing about the birth of the Earth and the beginning of life", Dove explains. Dove and the librettist Alasdair Middleton picked "the best bits of the story" and the children perform it on this live recording with gusto. Gaia Theory was inspired by a trip Dove took to the Arctic – a project called Cape Farewell, organised to allow artists to witness climate change ? rst-hand. Dove says the experience woke him up to the speed and scale of changes taking place: on return, he wondered how it might be possible 'to write about this without ? nger-wagging'. Dove turned to the work of scientist James Lovelock, who developed the idea that the Earth behaves as a self-regulating organism, which always maintains a balance favourable for life. Lovelock himself describes this relationship as a dance, making it natural for Dove to set to music. The resulting piece is a celebration of the resilience of life.
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