A Forest Unfolding was conceived by Richard Powers, Laura Gilbert, and Jonathan Bagg. It was commissioned by Electric Earth Concerts for premieres on August 12, 2018 in Peterborough, New Hampshire and August 18th at the Portland Chamber Music Festival in Maine.
Jonathan Bagg
Laura Gilbert
Richard Powers
Four writers—the environmentalists Bill McKibben and Joan Maloof, along with the novelists Richard Powers and Kim Stanley Robinson—selected prose passages and poems on the relations among people and trees.
Joan Maloof
Bill McKibbon
Richard Powers
Kim Stanley Robinson
Prose passages and poems on the relations among people and trees are taken from the Book of Job and the following writers and poets:
Wendell Berry
Anne LaBastille
W.S. Merwin
Richard Powers
Henry David Thoreau
Four composers—Eric Moe, Melinda Wagner, Stephen Jaffe, and David Kirkland Garner—set these words into a linked sequence of recitatives and arias. The composers themselves communicated and cooperated with one another throughout the process, sharing thoughts on the relations between the texts, exchanging material and musical ideas, and shaping the structure of the larger piece.
David Kirkland Garner
Stephen Jaffe
Eric Moe
Melinda Wagner
A Forest Unfolding was recorded at the University of South Carolina on April 15, 2023 by Rachel Calloway (mezzo-soprano), Thomas Meglioranza (baritone), Richard Powers (narrator), Laura Gilbert (flutes), Joseph Eller (clarinets), Eric Pritchard (violin), Jonathan Bagg (viola), Caroline Stinson (cello), and Nicholas Susi (piano). The piece was recorded, edited, and mastered by engineer Jeff Francis for release on New Focus Recordings (April 10, 2026).
Rachel Calloway, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Meglioranza, baritone
Richard Powers, narrator
Laura Gilbert, flutes
Joseph Eller, clarinets
Eric Pritchard, violin
Jonathan Bagg, viola
Caroline Stinson, cello
Nicholas Susi, piano
Jeff Francis, engineer