Without Us (2020) by Carla Kihlstedt
Opera Film Original | 5 min | 2020
Commissioned by: Stephen & Evelyn Block/Raulee Marcus
Composer & Lyricist: Carla Kihlstedt
Performed by: Carla Kihlstedt (Voice and Violin), Tallulah Lazlo Bossi, Lucia Gómez-Ibáñez, Samara Marie Leshin-Sell, Winter Muric, Evelyn Rain Schertzer (Additional Vocals)
Videography & Editing: Michael Cestaro & Joseph Navas
Recording & Mixing: Jon Evans at Brick Hill, Orleans, MA
Experience the profound meditation of Without Us by Carla Kihlstedt, a mesmerizing video performance commissioned by Stephen & Evelyn Block/Raulee Marcus. In this hauntingly beautiful piece, Carla Kihlstedt lends her voice and violin, accompanied by additional vocals from the talented Tallulah Lazlo Bossi, Lucia Gómez-Ibáñez, Samara Marie Leshin-Sell, Winter Muric, and Evelyn Rain Schertzer. The impeccable videography and editing by Michael Cestaro & Joseph Navas bring this ethereal creation to life.
Recorded and Mixed by Jon Evans at Brick Hill, Orleans, MA, Without Us is a contemplation of the multifaceted silence that enveloped us during 2020. Inspired by Alan Weisman's thought-provoking book, The World Without Us, this composition explores how nature might reclaim urban spaces if humanity were to vanish. Carla Kihlstedt found solace in this idea.
As Carla reflects, the song began as an exploration of the silence experienced during the initial weeks of quarantine, when the world's cacophony ceased, allowing us to hear the planet without our interference. The silence had myriad forms, from the peaceful to the eerie, each teeming with meaning.
“...silence is like snow — there are a million different kinds of silence, most of them teeming with activity, nuance and implication. There’s the silence of sleep, of listening, of boredom, of fear, of censorship, of restraint, of anticipation, of complicity... of death. ”
Without Us is a musical journey through silence, inviting you to explore its various shades and implications in a world that momentarily stood still.
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