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James Dillon has composed «Lamentations :» for the Schola Heidelberg and the Ensemble Proton Bern – powerful chants expressing not only lamentation, but also protest and solidarity.

Commissioned by the Musikfestival Bern and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, James Dillon has created a new composition tailor-made for the Schola Heidelberg and the Ensemble Proton Bern. The starting point is the Lamentations, which have a long, biblically influenced tradition in Western musical history. Whilst this reference may initially have played a certain role in the conception, the work has since moved far beyond it and expanded into the universal. This is evident in the selection of texts chosen by Dillon. Ancient authors such as Lucretius and Virgil feature alongside Sumerian texts and excerpts from a poem by Georg Trakl. Folk music traditions, such as those of Scottish bagpipe music, also influence the work. The piece concludes with a «Lamentation for the Trees». Five thousand years are thus reflected in this work.

The «Lamentations :» should therefore be understood not only as an expression of grief, but also as an act of protest and solidarity – and one that is highly topical. The piece was conceived against the backdrop of modern-day displacements – whether caused by the merciless machinery of war or by planetary suicide. According to Dillon, he in no way presumes to speak on behalf of the displaced. His aim is to create a form of sorrowful protest – also in memory of Scottish bagpipe tunes of resistance, such as «Is fhada mae seo tha sinn» («Too long in this state»).