For the Beauty of the Earth (2020) – Darleen Mitchell (United States)
For the Beauty of the Earth takes its title from a hymn of the same name, a hymn which praises and gives thanks for this earth, the skies, sun and moon, day and night, hill and vale, tree and flower.
Unlike the original hymn from the early Industrial Age (1860’s) this piece is also a prayer, and a plea, to value this beautiful earth, to acknowledge and work for countering the effects of climate change, and to keep our beautiful planet free from those human forces and greed which could destroy it.
For the Beauty of the Earth is mostly peaceful and encourages reflection upon this beautiful earth and the hope of returning to its beauty and peace.
Ann adds: It’s also fascinating to me that the three composers who used the pre-existent hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth” are all women (the others being Vanessa Cornett and Wendy Davis).
Photo by Ann DuHamel
Darleen (Cowles) Mitchell (b. 1942), has written over 140 compositions for instrumental and vocal combinations, from solo flute to orchestra and chorus. Her compositions have been performed throughout the United States and in Europe, including at regional and national College Music Society Conferences and the New Music Festival of the American Composers Alliance in New York. Her works are published by American Composers Editions in New York.
Dr. Mitchell has been the recipient of many awards, including the Distinguished Artist Award from the Nebraska Arts Council in 2005 and 2011, and the National League of American Pen Women Composition Competition for her tuba concerto Visions, after ideas from Hildegard of Bingen. Several works have won prizes and contests, including Watery Moon for alto/bass flute and vibraphone, Alto Flute Composition Competition, Royal College of Music, London, England; Images for violin and guitar, Duo 46 Composition Competition, Hermoupolis, Greece; O Felix Anima, for Soprano, Flute, Clarinet and Piano, Chicago Ensemble Discover America III Composition Competition.
She received a Ph.D. in Music Composition from the University of Chicago where her teachers included Ralph Shapey and Pulitzer Prize winner Shulamit Ran. Dr. Mitchell founded and performed with the improvisational ensemble The Marcel Duchamp Memorial Players in the Chicago area for over 10 years.
She retired as a Professor Emerita in 2014 from the University of Nebraska at Kearney where she coordinated the music theory and composition programs, and directed the New Music Ensemble and the annual New Music Festival.
Ann DuHamel 