The Holocene Extinction

by Cecilia Damström

for male choir

Description

The Holocene Extinction, also called the Anthropocene extinction, is the ongoing extinction event that we are living in. An extinction event, also referred to as mass extinction or biotic crisis, is a rapid and widespread decrease in the biodiversity on Earth, where 75% or more of the species go extinct. During the past 100-200 years, the loss of biodiversity and extinction of species has accelerated to the point that most biologists now believe humankind has either entered a period of mass extinction or is currently entering it. The current rate of extinction of species is estimated at between 100 to 1000 times higher than normal extinction rates, and is moreover increasing. So far between 1.4 and 1.8 million species have already been scientifically identified, and between 0,01 and 0,1 % of these species are going extinct every year. Unlike the other extinction events, this mass extinction is almost completely the responsible of one species – humans.

In my piece The Holocene Extinction the first half of the piece is like a time looped fast forward of life on our Earth. The rainforests as well as coral reefs are two of the single most important providers of oxygen for our Earth, and so far around 64% of rainforests and 50% of all coral reefs have been lost, hence the coughing references. The second half of the piece is like a requiem for all the species we have made go extinct or that we are making extinct at the moment. The second half is a collective mourning of the traumatic time we are living through together on our Earth.

- Cecilia Damström

Instrumentation

chm [TTBB]

Category

Vocal and Choral Works

Opus no.

op. 85

Premiere

YL Male Choir, Pasi Hyökki, cond. April 8, 2023, Helsinki

Commisioned by / dedications

Commissioned by YL Male Choir

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