Perpetual Light: Requiem for an Unscorched Earth June 4th 2011 at 3.30pm and 7.30pm The Old Vic Tunnels, Station Approach Road, London SE1 8SW Website: www.perpetual-light.com Perpetual Light: Requiem for an Unscorched Earth is an emotionally charged new work by British composer Jessica Curry. It fuses live choir, film and installation to create a unique and profoundly moving experience that remembers those who lost their lives in the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Recent events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan have given the work an additional resonance, as once again we face the potential consequences of nuclear accident as well as war. Yet despite our fears of nuclear devastation, the human race has not yet destroyed itself. Perpetual Light is a testament to humankind's extraordinary will to survive. It is this celebration of hope that has earned the concert the endorsement of UNESCO, the United Nations body dedicated to fostering international peace and understanding. In an exciting new departure for composer Jessica Curry, well-known for her work incorporating digital technology, the music is scored for unaccompanied chamber choir and combines the age-old Requiem text with powerful extracts from the writings of Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb. The extraordinary Old Vic Tunnels are the ideal site for this immersive, poignant experience. Film and installation by artist Jo Fairfax complete this haunting and powerful performance. Perpetual Light promises to be a gripping, unforgettable testament to the strength of the human spirit. "The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country..." "We knew the world could not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that one way or another." - [Oppenheimer] Perpetual Light was commissioned by Corn Exchange Newbury. It has received funding from the Arts Council of England, PRS for Music Foundation and the Ernest Cook Trust, and has been generously supported by the University of Portsmouth. Conducted by Andrew Griffiths Reviewed by Kay Kempin on bachtrack Reviewed by P Umachandran on remotegoat