With the exception of Bob Chilcott, the composers featured in the concert on June 6th are still largely unknown in Germany. In his work *Five Days that Changed the World*, Chilcott celebrates humanity's creative power and its ability to positively transform the world through achievements such as the printing press and the abolition of slavery—music brimming with optimism and vitality.

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In contrast, Andrey Stolyarov and Christopher Tin, in their settings of poems by Anne Brontë, Emily Dickinson, and Sara Teasdale, explore the relationship between humanity and nature—and its growing alienation.

Out of a spiritual quest for the unifying power of an intact natural world emerged works that draw on romantic imagery of nature, yet re-examine it in light of contemporary environmental destruction. This is particularly evident in Tin's work *The Lost Birds*, which not only addresses the loss of bird species but also depicts a nature that has become almost disturbingly detached from humankind.

Performers