Throughout history, humans have been captivated by the celestial bodies above and the atmospheric phenomena around them. The sun, moon, stars, and rain have played pivotal roles in shaping our cultures, beliefs, and understanding of the world. This enduring fascination stems from a complex interplay of practical needs, spiritual yearnings, and scientific curiosity. Poets and composers have certainly not remained immune to this fascination and have used it as subject matter for their art—indeed, the phrase 'sun moon stars rain' is a direct quote from EE Cummings’ poem Anyone lived in a pretty how town, which has served as inspiration for the music on this recording.

In an age of rapid technological advancement and urban living, one might expect this fascination to wane. Yet, it persists and even grows. Solar eclipses still draw crowds of spectators, lunar cycles continue to captivate, stargazing remains a popular hobby, and the arrival of rain still has the power to alter moods and plans.

The sun, our nearest star, has been revered across civilizations as a life-giving force. Ancient Egyptians worshiped Ra, the sun god, while the Aztecs paid homage to Huitzilopochtli. Beyond religious significance, the sun’s daily journey across the sky provided early humans with a natural timekeeper, crucial for agricultural practices and societal organization. Today, our fascination continues through scientific endeavors, from harnessing solar energy to studying its effects on our climate and health. The sun’s constancy and inscrutability is personified by composers Dan Forrest and Sir Arthur Sullivan in contrasting styles in The sun never says and The sun whose rays are all ablaze, both works introducing very human emotions in love and devotion and seeking enlightenment from above.

The moon, earth’s constant companion, has long been a source of wonder and mystery. Its changing phases have guided lunar calendars, influenced tidal predictions, and inspired countless myths and legends. The moon’s soft, reflected light has been a muse for poets and artists, evoking emotions ranging from romance to melancholy. Laura Mvula’s Sing to the moon captures this atmosphere perfectly, touching on themes of mental health and unrequited love and drawing strength from the nightly moonrise and the comfort that its gentle light can bring. Connor Koppin’s I found night speaks similarly to the melancholy we find in darkness, and the emotional consequences.

Stars, those distant pinpricks of light, have served as beacons of navigation and imagination for millennia. Ancient mariners used the stars to traverse vast oceans, while diverse cultures wove elaborate stories around star patterns, creating constellations that reflected their worldviews. The development of astronomy as a science has only deepened our fascination, as we’ve come to understand stars as the building blocks of galaxies and the birthplaces of elements essential to life itself. In popular culture, the stars have become synonymous with fame, glitz and glamour—we speak of pop stars, movie stars and sports stars—but it is our intrinsic fascination with the true stars above us that gives us real pause for thought, and there is a whole album’s worth of choral material here, and more! In this program, music by Erika Lloyd and Frank Ticheli consider life, love, and our very existence through this fascination and, in a world premiere performance of commissioned work Little you, looking up by Dale Trumbore, the composer and lyricist paints a perfect, intimate vignette of our relationship with the stars through the eyes of a child, learning about the universe for the first time.

Rain, a more earthbound phenomenon, has been no less influential in capturing human attention. As a vital resource for agriculture and survival, rain has been both celebrated and feared across cultures. Rain dances and prayers for precipitation are found in traditions worldwide, highlighting its perceived connection to divine will. The sound and smell of rain often evoke powerful emotions and memories, while its visual representation in art and literature serves as a metaphor for renewal, cleansing, and sometimes melancholy. In our program these literal benefits of rainfall are used to illustrate metaphors, whether in relation to social justice (April rain song), the futility of war (There will come soft rains) or the blessings that spring from religious faith (As torrents in summer).

Our fascination with these natural phenomena reflects a deeper human need to understand, and to connect with , the world around us. They represent constants in an ever-changing world, providing a sense of continuity and cycles that mirror what we desire within our own lives. The sun and moon mark the passage of days and months, stars remind us of our place in a vast universe, and rain connects us to the Earth’s life-giving processes.

Moreover, these elements challenge us intellectually. From ancient sundials to modern solar panels, from lunar calendars to moon landings, from astrological charts to deep space telescopes, and from rain dances to weather satellites, our fascination has driven innovation and expanded our knowledge. William Yanesh’s setting of Walt Whitman’s The astronomer considers whether wisdom comes at the price of wonder, and suggests that it is better perhaps simply to enjoy the spectacle without full understanding.

This enduring fascination speaks to something fundamental in the human experience—a mix of awe at the natural world, a quest for understanding our place within it, and a recognition of our dependence on forces far greater than ourselves. This is nothing new: Shakespeare, Lord Byron, and Octavio Paz are amongst the literary greats who have brought this awe to bear in their poetry and prose and inspired composers Sir John Rutter, Toby Hession and Eric Whitacre in their contributions to this programme.

Christopher Gabbitas © 2025