The Eagle Soars Again (2000)

for solo english horn, mixed chorus, and percussion

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The pronunciation guide audio files are available via Dropbox: Eagle Soars Again Pronunciation Guide

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Program Notes

The Eagle Soars Again begins as a lament and a dirge, to express what we would have felt if this magnificent creature had become extinct. Gradually (in the same way that the bald eagle regained its health), the music becomes more optimistic, though vacillating between pessimism and optimism (sickness and health), and finally, celebratory, as we can feel now in the recovery of one of our land's most precious gifts.
 

The Eagle Soars Again is dedicated to Rachel Carson (1907-1964). Rachel Carson was an American biologist who began her career as an aquatic biologist (a biologist who studies freshwater ecosystems) with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. She became a nature writer in the 1950s, writing several very successful books. In the late 1950's she turned her attention to conservation, focusing on problems caused by pesticides. In 1962 she wrote Silent Spring, which documented the adverse effects on the
environment of the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation and public officials of accepting the industry's marketing claims unquestioningly.

It is widely thought that the eventual ban of DDT (1972) in the U.S. came about through the tireless and courageous work of Rachel Carson.

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