Something extraordinary happened in northern California in 1997. A 24-year old woman made a statement against the logging of California's old-growth redwoods by taking up residence on a tiny platform 180 feet up the trunk of an ancient redwood marked for logging. She stayed in the tree she named Luna for 738 days, until the loggers relented and agreed to spare Luna and other trees around it.

This CD—which combines the evocative music of French composer Jean-Pascal Beintus with moving text by Ian Leonard, an American-born writer living in England—is a direct result of that remarkable act of civil disobedience.

The Butterfly Tree

Relayed in narration and song, The Butterfly Tree recounts the riveting tale of Julia Butterfly Hill's two-year vigil from the point of view of Luna, the tree she lived in and saved from the loggers' chain saws. Luna's story is narrated by Julia. We hear the sounds of the forest "being itself," its inhabitants working together, making music; experience a musical rendition of the environmental destruction caused by irresponsible logging; and witness the arrival of men with blue ribbons who tag Luna for destruction.

One night humans arrive and build a platform high in Luna's branches by the light of the moon. A "small, excited, but scared female of the species" stays, and we hear her thoughts expressed in song by legendary folk singer and activist Joan Baez. At first, Luna is bemused at the brash young woman who has made her home in her branches. But as the days grow into weeks and weeks into months, Luna gains respect for her visitor. One night a fearsome storm descends on the forest, and Luna teaches Julia how to survive. "You won't break if you bend," counsels Luna. "Move with me, bend with me, stay with me."

Hoping to dislodge Julia from her perch, the lumber company hires round-the-clock guards to keep her friends from bringing supplies. They blow horns and shine bright lights on her to keep her from sleeping. But Julia's friends finally manage to distract the guards and get her supplies, and eventually the loggers give in and agree to spare Luna. The CD ends with Joan Baez summing up the lessons Julia has learned in song.

The Brementown Musicians

This charming tale relates the adventures of a donkey whose maser has decided he's too old and no longer worth the cost of his feed. Fearing he'll end up in the glue factory, the donkey sets out on the road to Bremen to realize his secret ambition: auditioning for the opera. Along the way he meets a hunting dog who can't keep up with the pack anymore, a cat whose mistress tried to drown him in a bucket, and a rooster who had been slated for the soup pot.

The four unlikely companions decide to audition for the opera as a quartet, but find a comfortable house on the way to town and settle in after rousting a group of thieves who had been living there. But the donkey can't put his dream aside and convinces the group to continue into Bremen for the audition. As it happens, the opera is preparing an opera based on Noah's Ark, and the barnyard quartet is just the ticket. Basking in the fame of their opera debut, the group tours far and near before retiring to a comfortable old age in the thieves' house.

The story is narrated by noted actress Joy Carlin, who calls upon an astonishing array of voices to play the parts of the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster. Carlin renders the songs as the animal quartet imagines they sound, while the sounds of a donkey, dog, cat, and rooster render the sounds as others hear them.

Credits

Artistic Director and Producer: Kent Nagano
Editing: Robert Randles
Mixer: James Austin
Associate Producer: Randy Porter

The Berkeley Symphony was recorded at Skywalker Ranch,
with additional sessions at Fantasy Studios.
Editing and mixing took place at the Saul Zaentz Film Center.

Sound Design: Robert Randles
Additional Sound Effects Editing: Ethan Stone, Nathan Gunn and Chris Gridley
Orchestral sessions engineered by Leslie Ann Jones

The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra
Stuart Canin, concertmaster

Helicopter sound effects by Harrison Bernstein, Justin Walton, Aaron Cole, Chris Carrillo - students at Westlake Middle School, Oakland, CA.

Thanks to Yvonne Backman of Children's Fairyland, Oakland, CA, home of donkeys Lampwick and Gideon, and roosters Ringo and Rocky.

The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra wishes to extend special thanks to Kent Nagano, Antonia P. Hotung, Mike and Wendy Boals, Sylvia McLaughlin, Barbara Hendrickson, Marc Weinstein, and Harry Weininger for their generous support, faith, and ability to dream.

This project was made possible through generous support from Antonia P. Hotung, in memory of her mother, Mordia Alice Hotung.