Astar T&A – Creative Duo

In this piece, we reflect on things that are common and potentially uniting for people on Earth, and why they always choose to be divided and hostile to each other, in fact, even using these common things, such as longing for creativity and the transcendental, to justify the aggression they channel towards each other.

The accompaniment to the song is built on numerous original motives that are composed in different folk traditions. They intertwine to create an organic flow, where the shoots of creativity from various times, continents and peoples co-exist in perfect harmony. This “song of countless voices” is the eternal, universal language that might have been the treasure, cherished by all, and the ground for mutual understanding.

The title of the piece refers to the New Testament (Luke 4:6), to the Jesus’ temptation by Satan. While the text in general, as the idea behind the piece, is secular, it metaphorically blames people for claiming authority over the world that existed long before them. For blindly pursuing dominance over their peers through war and violence. For choosing the fleeting “glory” – paid by endless suffering and death – instead of a sustainable and flourishing co-existence.

The work is intertextual on many layers. So, it does not only make multiple references to folk music, but also two of the authors’ own pieces that are, in turn, reflections on fundamental topics. One of them is a plaintive lament, tragically inspired by the war in Ukraine.

All the Power and Glory, by Anna Astar

all the power and glory
you have sought
since your hordes were roving
in the woods of your nascent world
 
from the beginning of time
you've been feeding the earth 
your pains and your joys
wherever you set your foot
a song of countless voices
voices as longing as yours
grows up to the sky
from the seeds of tears as sharp as yours
from the seeds of sweat as hot as yours
and still you seek
all the power and glory elsewhere
 
all the power and glory
you write with your whips
on the naked shoulders
with the blood that's as red as yours
 
all the power and glory
you inscribe on the swords
that you raise to bury
in the bodies as soft as yours
 
a song of countless voices grows
straight to your heart it speaks
and still you seek
all the power and glory elsewhere