Melody for Peace (2007) · 13 min

for Western Orchestra and Non-Western Indigenous Instruments

Western orchestra: flute, clarinet, soprano sax, strings; Non-Western Orchestra (including but not limited to): frula, bağlama, cümbüş, oud, pipa, tabla, talking drum, erhu, pipa, sarod, sarangi, horsehead fiddle (morin khuur), throat singers, star, piri, and other percussion from around the world

Commissioned from the Melody for Dialogue Among Civilizations Association and UNESCO

Program Note

Melody for Peace was commissioned by Mehri Madarshahi, the Founder and President of the Melody for Dialogue Among Civilizations Association (MDACA). Speaking on behalf of MDACA, Ms. Madarshahi states:

Our belief is that music and musical performance are a major component of intangible heritage of the world community. To that end, we have decided to, more explicitly, recognize its potential as an important bridge between peoples and value its contribution to furthering a dialogue among civilizations, cultures ad communities. Today, we can no longer myopically look to our own roots and show disinterest or hostility to other cultures or other musical genres.

Melody for Peace is written for two orchestras: a Western orchestra (primarily strings), and an orchestra of non-Western indigenous instruments; i.e., an orchestra of instruments from various regions around the world (the instrumentation of which can be different every time the work is performed).

The premiere of Melody for Peace was presented during the musical half of a full-day symposium and concert at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on November 26, 2007, titled, “Music as a Means of Intercultural Dialogue,” developed to show how music can help people communicate, understand, and respect one another in a globalizing world. 

The symposium brought together ethnomusicologists, ethnologists, historians, musicologists, authors, musicians, composers, lawyers, as well as representatives of academia, governments, non-governmental and international organizations, and the private sector from all parts of the world, and was structured around three sessions. The first session, “The dynamics of music and cultural expressions,” examined inter alia the role that traditional communities themselves could play in the safekeeping of their music and the promotion of cultural diversity; the second, “Impact of globalization (and commerce) on music as an intangible heritage,” debated how, in a globalizing world, musical expressions could be protected but can also be promoted; the third entitled “How does music further communication?” raised such questions as whether music, which forms part of cultural identities, can improve their understanding of these very identities?

Françoise Rivière, Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mehri Madarshahi, President of the Melody for Dialogue among Civilizations Association (MDACA) and American composer Anthony Paul de Ritis, Northeastern University (Boston) opened the symposium.

Later that evening, Melody for Peace was premiered by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague and the “Melody Traditional Ensemble” of non-Western indigenous instruments under the baton of Maestro Igor Vlajnic, in Room I, UNESCO. One week later, Melody for Peace was reprised by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City; December 3, 2007.

In 2010, Melody for Peace was arranged by Korean composer Sun Kim as a concerto for the Korean piri, and performed by Gamin Kang, piri, and the Ensemble TIMF, at KT Hall in Seoul, Korea; December 10, 2010.

Melody for Peace was once again performed at UNESCO headquarters, this time under the baton of Bartholomeus-henri Van De Velde, as part of the 70th Anniversary celebrations of UNESCO, December 22, 2015.

Ephemera

Viet Name Culture Information Network (CINET News). A symposium at UNESCO: Music as a Means of Intercultural Dialogue (November 20, 2007) [article] 

Letter from Françoise Rivière, Assistant Director-General for Culture [letter] 

Program Booklet, Melody for Peace, “L’Italiana in Algeri,” 26 November 2007, UNESCO, Paris, France; 3 December 2007, Avery Fisher Hall, Linclon Center, New York, NY [program booklet] 

Brochure, Melody for Peace, a Concerto for the Korean piri, KT Hall in Seoul, Korea; December 10, 2010 [brochure] 

Poster, Melody for Peace, Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City, NY; December 3, 2007 [poster] 

Media Advisory, Music as a Means of Intercultural Dialogue: A symposium at UNESCO (November 19, 2007) [media advisory] 

Preview, News@Northeastern, “Northeastern University Professor’s Composition to be Performed at New York City’s lincoln Center,” (November 29, 2007) [preview] 

View Score
YouTube
Excerpt from Melody for Peace for Western Orchestra and Non-Western Indigenous Instruments. Commissioned by Mehri Madarshahi and the Melody for Dialogue Among Civilizations Association (MDACA); first performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, November 26, 2007; reprised by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, December 3, 2007.
Gamin’s Piri. Melody for Peace, arranged as a concerto for the Korean piri by Korean composer Sun Kim, and performed by Gamin Kang, piri; KT Hall, Seoul, Korea (December 10, 2010).
Music, Intercultural Dialogue and Peace, UNESCO jam session. Musicians from around the world take an opportunity to jam with one another during a rehearsal break from preparing Melody of Peace at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (December 22, 2015).
Press

Granier, Benoit. (2019). “Language and Culture Intertwinement in Music: An effort to develop intercultural language (and notation) in Music” in International Opportunities in the Arts (Mary Sherman, Ed.). Vernon Press.

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