With the inauguration of the James Webb Space Telescope and the launch of Artemis I, NASA is back on top of the news cycle. Images of the Earth from space recall the wonder experienced by the astronauts of Apollo 8, 54 years ago. The Christmas Eve mission was the first to send humans to orbit the moon and return safely to Earth. “Earthrise,” a photograph taken from the capsule by William Anders during lunar orbit, is one of the most iconic ever taken.
Kile Smith’s 35-minute choral work, “The Consolation of Apollo,” sets the actual words of the Apollo 8 astronauts, framed by selections from “The Consolation of Philosophy,” writings by the 6th century philosopher Boethius. The juxtaposition of Apollo, mythical charioteer of the sun, with Apollo 8, the manmade spacecraft bearing his name, each traversing the skies of their respective eras, can’t help but inspire a kind of awed reflection on what humanity is capable of achieving.
Smith’s piece will receive a unique performance on a concert by The LOTUS Project, which will be presented at the Planetarium at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton this Saturday at 7 p.m.
You can read more about it in my article in the Princeton weekly U.S. 1, in vending machines and online today.
