« It was the fall of the Berlin Wall which initially gave me the idea of writing a work based on political texts. The work is in three sections (sung in English, French and Spanish), each comprising two songs. Each song uses the ensemble to create a very different musical setting, but what unifies the work is the melodic lyricism of the vocal part combined with a strong sense of pulse, and the frequent use of polyrythmic patterns in the instrumental score. »

« I had been fascinated with the compositional possibilities of the opening riff of Nirvana’s song Smells Like Teen Spirit for a few years… »

« In the summer of 1990, then Bradyworks soprano Iraina Neufeld suggested that I set some of John C. Walker’s poems to music. John sent me some poems and I found that the clarity and simplicity of expression of the texts suited the kind of simple melodic ideas that I was trying to explore at the time. The work is written for unaccompanied soprano… »

1-6. Revolutionary Songs

7. Circling

8. Three or Four Days After the Death of Kurt Cobain

9-12. Walker Songs