Piatti prepares for world premiere of his multi-faith oratorio
HOT’s Judy Parkinson met the renowned local composer Polo Piatti for tea to find out more about his new multi-faith oratorio – the world’s first. He told her, “I dedicate this oratorio to all the people who give to the world instead of taking from it.”
Polo Piatti’s Libera Nos is the world’s first multi-faith oratorio with universal themes and special emphasis on the positives we all have in common; unity not discord. Its world premiere will take place at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, on Sunday 20 November.
Piatti, originally from Argentina, acquired the spiritual qualifications to bring this oratorio to life thanks to his early education in a Buenos Aires Catholic school, where his teachers considered him a candidate to become a priest one day. After winning a scholarship in his teens he moved to Paris where he studied composition and film music, and secularised his faith.
Photo: Peter Mould.
He worked in Germany for 11 years and moved to the UK in 1990 where he won a reputation as a concert pianist and music conductor. He is now celebrated for his neo-romantic classical compositions that he describes as accessible, passionate music that touches the heart before the head.
One morning a few years ago, as he strolled along in Hastings, Piatti felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and recognised ex-councillor Peter Armstrong, a leading voice in The Musica Sacra Society that aims to promote understanding between different faiths through sacredly inspired music. He commissioned Piatti to write the oratorio that would become Libera Nos.
Three-year journey
During three years of research and completion of the score, Piatti studied sacred texts, visited pagodas, temples, cathedrals, synagogues and mosques and met representatives of the five major religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Libera Nos translates as Deliver Us or Save Us and aims to convey the traditional beliefs and spiritual messages of each faith.
According to Piatti, “The message of Libera Nos is based upon the observation that the world has become a deeply divisive, unjust and unhappy place because we continue disconnecting from each other. Only by looking for common ground and universal similarities we will find understanding and enjoy a better life for all of us on this fragile planet. And as the Dalai Lama rightly states: ‘Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.’”
The Hastings Sinfonia is among the musical forces assembled for the first performance of Libera Nos. Here at a founding meeting convened by Piatti in 2012.
Libera Nos comprises 60 original vocal and instrumental compositions arranged into four main sections: Creation, Law and Obedience, End of Time and Reconciliation. Piatti stepped away from the traditional oratorio format of an orchestra with four soloists and created a fifth voice, that of God – she represents innocence. Each soloist narrates a socio-political text from each religion’s respective scripture and other related axioms.
St Richard’s Catholic College Children’s Choir.
Collaboration
The event is a remarkable collaboration between the world-famous London Mozart Players and local orchestra, the Hastings Sinfonia, with 50 singers from St Richard’s Catholic College Children’s Choir, London Euphony Choir and the Libera Nos Chorus, plus five exceptional solo singers – Anne Rebecca Højlund, Eleanor Grant, Rebekah Jones, Matthew Pochin and Stephen Holloway – and the conductor Derek Carden.
“It is a real honour for me to have this major work premiered by one of the UK’s top orchestras, London Mozart Players. This will be a very exciting concert, one that will be remembered for many years to come,” said Piatti.
Community, education and outreach lie at the heart of the London Mozart Players LMP by the Sea residency which was instigated by Piatti. The premiere of Libera Nos matches LMP’s commitment by bringing together an array of local talent and musicians including a specially formed choir, the Libera Nos Chorus.
The London Mozart Players will lead an array of musicians in the first performance of Libera Nos. Here shown giving a concert as part of their residency at Opus Theatre in 2019.
Flynn Le Brocq, London Mozart Players Chief Executive, commented: “Over the past two years, our residency LMP by the Sea has allowed us to reach thousands of people in Hastings and Bexhill with the transformational power of music, from the very young to the elderly, many of whom had never experienced a classical concert before. We have been overwhelmed by the response and are so delighted to be playing a part in helping to shape and empower the future of classical music in this community.
“It is only right that our season should begin this year with a world premiere of such an exciting and inclusive new work, written by the wonderful local composer Polo Piatti. This concert is a concert for everyone, no matter their age, gender, race or religious belief, celebrating the talent to be found in the local community – we hope it will inspire the people of Bexhill and beyond.”
“While we celebrate our diversity, we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than the things that divide us.”
Jo Cox (1974 – 2016)
Libera Nos: Multi-faith Oratorio by Polo Piatti De La Warr Pavilion, Marina, Bexhill-on-Sea, TN40 1DP. Sunday 20 November, 4pm. Tickets £6-£17, available online.
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