Mothers and Sons

Midsummer Sound Company

Dedicated to the production and promotion of the spoken word and audio arts including but not limited to audiobooks, audio plays, storytelling and poetry.

Mothers and Sons

Mothers and Sons
is the third program in a trilogy
exploring the themes of war, loss, memory, and regeneration.
The two other half hours,
"Unquiet Graves", and "Yesterday and Forever",
are also available individually.
All three productions will be released as a package in the Spring of 2009.

We are pleased to announce the radio version of

Mothers and Sons

Mothers And Sons

Marjorie Van Halteren
&
Helen Engelhardt

Produced in 2008 by Entre Deux Amies

Mothers and Sons is a double portrait of the German sculptor Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945), who created "The Grieving Parents," a moving memorial to her son who died in WWI, and the contemporary German-American sculptor Suse Lowenstein , who created an equally monumental work to honor her son, a victim in the 1988 Lockerbie disaster. Both women describe how their work (18 years for Kathe, 15 years for Suse), became a path for their grief, bearing witness to the transforming power of art and creation.

Mothers and Sons is a collaboration between Helen Engelhardt, a storyteller and performer, and Marjorie Van Halteren, sound artist. Kathe's diaries are performed by Helen, with Marjorie composing sound and music. Sound recorded on location on Long Island and in Southern Belgium.

"Dark Elegy"
by Suse Lowenstein

"The Grieving Parents"
by Kathe Kollwitz

Marjorie Van Halteren is a true radio artist. Her sonic texturing and musicality makes her pieces rise above most audio work on public radio today. Nothing makes this clearer than "Mothers and Sons." In this deeply poetic and gently moving artistic piece, Van Halteren proves again her unsung brilliance in the public radio world.

"Mothers and Sons" is one moving and remarkable work. There is no glitz, no boring narrative, no spelling it out for the audience. This is sound art that tells a carefully woven and intelligent story of two mothers' grief over the loss of their sons who were tragically killed, one in WWI and the other in the tragedy of the 1988 Lockerbie, Scotland air disaster. This piece describes how it took 18 years for one woman and 15 years for another to create loving memorials for their sons. For those going through grief, this piece can speak to the transformative power of art to heal from and to come to terms with terrible loss.

"Mothers and Sons" would make a touching sonic memorial for Veteran's Day, Memorial Day and Mother's Day. I urge programmers to give a listen and find room in their schedules for this beautiful and moving work.

....really great work....

Dmae Roberts

(Producer)

Public Radio Exchange Editorial Board Member

Portland, OR

November 3, 2008

Listen to a sample of Mothers and Sons

PURCHASE MOTHERS AND SONS

$9.95