live recording of Swallowing the Sun
***
A public performance and invitation
for audience & performers
to meditate
and remember
the colossal loss of life
resulting from the atomic bombings
of Hiroshima & Nagasaki in 1945.
Joanne Rice preparing the center aisle floor before the performance
Photo of the performance
“Swallowing the Sun” is a public sound piece for a large ensemble, utilizing musicians from the greater Boston community, with additional performance content by Joanne Rice and Matt Samolis, which was performed on Monday evening August 8, 2011 at the Church of the Advent on Beacon Hill in Boston. This date falls between the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which happened on August 6 & 9, 1945 respectively. The performance will commemorate the estimated 150,000- 250,000 lives of those killed in the blasts.
Each musician is instructed to play approximately 90-120 notes per minute for one hour. Each note is one life lost.
A few weeks ago I found a small bit of folded
paper in my dad’s mementos for WW II.
It was in Japanese. My friend Tiger Okoshi had it translated for me.
I found it very moving and of relevance still today.
It was dropped from airplanes probably to the defeated Japanese troops.
I quote it below:
