EARTH ANTHEM:
THE UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
SET TO MUSIC
by Lewis Elbinger
The project began innocently: in 1978, I attempted to set Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights to music. Sitting at a piano in the lounge of the hospital in which I worked, I punched out a forceful melody that matched the powerful text of the first article of this most unmusical document. Pleased with myself, I tried composing other sections of the Declaration. Article 2 was too daunting at first, filled as it is with long passages of legalistic text, so I skipped it and focused on the shorter, easier articles. Article 3 was my next effort and that, too, lent itself to a catchy, poignant tune. Emboldened, I attempted Article 4. Once again, I successfully captured the rhythm of this short, emphatic statement. I was hooked.
Every day at lunchtime, I experimented with tunes and melodies, trying to match them to the legalistic prose of the Universal Declaration that stubbornly resisted song. Gradually, like a sculptor releasing form from shapeless stone, I found the poetry hidden in the prose. The scope of the project revealed itself: to set the entire United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights--the preamble and all thirty articles--to music.
A friend of mine wrote me: "Reviewing the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I find it quite lengthy. How to set it to music? A mini-opera? How to make it musically interesting, since the text is didactic? I hear the buzzing of a Greek chorus. Repetitive elements are useful in song. What would the repetitive elements be? Or would there be a non-musical recitation of the text over a musical background? A fascinating task you have set for yourself."
I responded: "Yours are most intelligent questions and reveal that you are musician. I have been working on this project for twenty years. It is finished. I practice every day and know the entire document by heart. Each article is a song unto itself with a different melody and, using an electronic keyboard, sometimes a different voice. There are thirty articles and eight sections in the preamble for a total of about forty different songs. I recently recorded a CD of this work, so you can hear for yourself how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sounds when it is set to music."
When I perform the work publicly, I present it with a slide show that displays the text of the Declaration as I sing. Interspersed with slides of the text are other slides that illustrate scenes of different people, places and objects around the world. The multi-media event is called "Earth Anthem" and had its world premiere at the Ak Altin Plaza Hotel in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Human Rights Day, December 10, 1995. It was sponsored by the local United Nations office, introduced by both the local International Monetary Fund representative and the Turkmen Minister of Justice and included articles in the Russian language (slides were in Russian and English). Attendance was about 200 with much of the diplomatic community and many of my personal friends packing the hall.
I performed "Earth Anthem" again in Lahore, Pakistan, on Human Rights Day 1996 with Amir Munawar, a renowned Pakistani musician. This was an abridged version: we presented only ten articles illustrated with slides of scenes from Pakistan by a local photographer. I played electronic keyboard and sang in English; my friend Amir played the piano and sang in Urdu. We performed at the American Center in Lahore; about 150 people attended. An elderly Pakistani lady came up to me afterwards, shook my hand and thanked me for the performance; I could tell that she heard it.
December 10, 1998, marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On that date, I performed "Earth Anthem" at a gathering of distinguished human rights advocates sponsored by The Times of India at the Ashok Hotel in New Delhi, India.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the product of all the blood, pain and horror of the 20th century. It is the answer to the cries of those who perished unjustly. It is the hope of relief for the misery of millions. It is the candle in the darkness. It is the standard by which all governments must be judged.
In singing the Universal Declaration, I am triply blessed. First, I can hear the poetry in the prose. Second, I set the poetry to music. Third, I share the results with others. Each of these is an incomparable gift for which I am and will be eternally grateful.
Video by Tokat
purplecloudz@zoho.com
![](https://s2.save4k.ru/pic/XZG2EiVJTno/mqdefault.jpg)