Concert, Choeur d'Hommes de La Villette : BABEL

Our program is called BABEL. It consists of religious songs from the three Abrahamic religions, because Babel—a myth found in the founding texts of these three religions and likely predating them— is first and foremost B%E2b-Illah, meaning “the Gate of God”—and thus has a very special connection to the sacred: that of a desired and envisioned bridge between Earth and Heaven. Next, these sacred songs, whether ancient or modern in composition, for Babel obviously has a special connection to language—and perhaps even raises the question of the difference between language and speech. Finally, Babel also represents the will to build—the idea that a project creates a sense of community, that building something enables society to form and includes individuals within a collective space.