Multiple GRAMMY-nominated harpist Yolanda Kondonassis announces her new album FIVE MINUTES for Earth, available from Azica Records on April 1.
Kondonassis, who has been involved in earth conservation for 20 years, describes the concept of the album as a personal mission to inspire earth conservation awareness through art. “When I first reached out to the composers featured in this collection and asked if they would be willing to contribute an earth-inspired, five-minute work for solo harp, I was completely overwhelmed by the generosity of immediate responses. All of the unique and vivid sonic realms that these composers created within a single theme are nothing short of amazing. These fifteen works, each with an evocative title, give musical insight into an almost magical spectrum of experience, which I hope might help my listeners pause and appreciate both the breathtaking beauty of our planet and the grave challenges ahead in saving it.”
Kondonassis says that FIVE MINUTES is a metaphor for the short amount of time that remains for the global community to respond to the environmental crisis. She also describes the harp and its sound as a metaphor for the planet. “I find that Mother Earth is often framed in a similar way as the harp and presents the same dichotomy of terms: majestic but fragile, feminine yet fiercely powerful, strikingly diverse but glorified primarily for only its most classically beautiful facets, and—while appreciated to an extent—often taken for granted. These parallels make the harp a perfect storyteller in the tale of Earth. In capturing the acoustic of the harp on this album, my producer and I made the choice to capture the sound of the harp as it truly is: boldly resonant, at times raw, prickly when appropriate, and as colorful, varied, dramatic, and immediate as possible.”
The compositions on the album include works inspired by the natural world, such as the song of humpback whales, the lowlands of Argentina, and the green color of nature. Other musical works suggest points of environmental crisis, such as the melting of glaciers, deforestation, and the dust storms of the 1930s in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Kondonassis’ project extends beyond the album itself. She plans to donate her royalties from the recording release to earth causes and initiatives. After the works are premiered and released, the music will be available to harpists worldwide, and for each verified performance of any work in the FIVE MINUTES collection, Kondonassis’ non-profit organization Earth at Heart will make a donation to a recognized earth conservation organization. Kondonassis also plans multi-media concerts, a video to accompany each track, and a separate published collection of Earth-inspired solos for younger harpists to be published by Theodore Presser.
Learn more about the project by reading the album liner notes and a Q&A with Kondonassis on her website. Check out our podcast for a conversation with Kondonassis about her collaboration with composer Jennifer Higdon.
