re-fug[u]e for three voices

re-fug[u]e attempts to reflect the emotional, visceral and spiritual experiences of multiple visits to a forest that has an uncanny, fairytale-like, if not mystical, aura. The first associations regarding an artistic rendering of those aspects that came to mind were polyphonic voices, as in Renaissance music. First, Arvo Pärt's a cappella choir of four voices, "The Deer's Cry" and then Orlando Gibbons' madrigal "Drop, Drop Slow Tears." I set my text to Gibbons' music as a parody, but the aspect of refuge ultimately evoked the compositional technique of a three-part fugue, re-fug[u]e.

re-fug[u]e is part of my poetic contribution to the understanding of a more sustainable relationship with trees and forests, in response to ownership, deforestation, the loss of biodiversity, and climate emergency.