The Earth Orchestra makes history with first song recorded by musicians in all 197 countries

History has been made after 197 musicians from every country in the world formed The Earth Orchestra.

Today (04.12.20) marks the release of the global orchestra’s debut track, ‘Together is Beautiful’, and the accompanying documentary, ‘The Earth Orchestra’, which is helmed by Jamie Wolfeld.

As per a press release, the project aims to “highlight the power that music has on unifying people from all cultures – transcending physical, cultural and political barriers.”

The idea came about three years ago and the entire process has been documented in the film.

Emma Newman Jude Dexter Smith, Project Directors of The Earth Orchestra, commented: “Connecting with a musician from every single country in the world has been an incredible experience for us both. Music is such a potent tool of communication, and to see these people and hear the final recording with all 197 musicians on it is so powerful. We are humbled by the experience and hope that it brings joy to what has been an incredibly challenging year globally for everyone around the world.”

Despite facing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the musicians united remotely in the face of adversity to record the uplifting track.

And they worked under the watchful eye of the BAFTA-winning composer, George Fenton – known for his work on ‘The Blue Planet’ and ‘Ghandi’ – who penned the music.

He said: “The Earth Orchestra is the largest and in my view the most significant orchestra

in history.

“The willingness of these gifted and diverse people to participate says it all for me. It’s simple and profound. A great reason to write music and an honour to be part of.”

Icelandic piano player Kira Kira said: “I don’t think I knew how many countries there were on Earth. Looking for the similarities in each other rather than spotting what separates us is so beautiful to understand in a primitive way how alike we are. The Earth Orchestra is a gathering of voices from all the countries in the world with 197 smiles.”

Mongolian throat singer and horse head fiddler, Bat-Erdene Victor Nyamdavaa, said: “It makes so much sense that everyone can be different, everyone living in different countries, different language, different culture, but in the end we are just making this one piece of music, so beautifully as one, as a whole together.”

And Zuhal Sultan from Iraq commented: “I would say if you are a musician and you play whatever instrument you may play or sing, and you have that love for what you do, then by extension you are connected to everybody who has that same passion. So I think it is a collection of people that create one entity that is united in their love for music.”

Listen and download ‘Together is Beautiful’ here: www.decca.lnk.to/EarthOrchestraEM. The ’Together is Beautiful’ album is set to follow on January 15, 2021.

Article source: https://www.contactmusic.com/news/the-earth-orchestra-makes-history-with-first-song-recorded-by-musicians-in-all-197-countries_6326753