Galileo's Daughters, an early music ensemble, is creating a DVD of their multimedia program, titled Perpetual Motion, which mixes historical narrative about the life of Galileo Galilei and emphasizes the important connection between science and music. The avant-garde music from Galileo's day is performed by Sarah Pillow, soprano and Mary Anne Ballard, viola da gamba, and they are joined by special guests Ronn McFarlane, lute; Christa Patton, baroque harp, and Daniel Swenberg, theorbo. The music and narration are enhanced by images, iconic and fresh, that help us make sense of our place in the universe.

When a life-altering event happens, we humans look to history to try to make sense of it. 
And now we are seeing in real time the fragility of our planet and ourselves. We are also witnessing resistance to progress, inclusion and survival.

Perpetual Motion follows the close relationship of science and music in the 17th century, a relationship that is significant in the story and experimentations of Galileo Galilei, and his struggle to convince the powers of the time what Copernicus had written about almost a hundred years earlier, that the sun is the center of the planetary system, not the Earth. Galileo was a catalyst for human progress. He is The Father of Modern Science, and his studies in experimentation are the foundation upon which evidence-based scientific research is conducted today.

We have performed Perpetual Motion for live audiences over the years, and

now we would like to share it with everyone as a high-definition video, composed by video artist Marc Wagnon, which will have a menu of different features and options to make it a personalized experience. The images and videos span from iconic images, to videos of nature, space animation, and images courtesy of the Hubble telescope, The European Space Agency and NASA.

Coincidentally, in the same year (1609) when Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter through his telescope, Henry Hudson sailed up the great river along the western shore of what is now Manhattan, following reports of a possible channel across the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean.

As longtime New Yorkers, and having witnessed the toll the coronavirus pandemic took on our city and our economy - especially the entertainment sector, the Perpetual Motion DVD will feature New York City's scientific, cultural and historic institutions in the narrated portions of the program, spoken by our storyteller, the native New Yorker and science author Dava Sobel.

 

In addition to the Perpetual Motion DVD, we will also be releasing a companion CD, titled Galileo’s Daughters, that will include all the musical pieces from Perpetual Motion, with four additional 17th-century nun composer motets as bonus tracks!  Both of Galileo's daughters were nuns, and the life of a nun in 17th-century Italy, besides protecting against plague, famine and death from child birth, gave many women the opportunity to learn and study music at the same level as their brothers outside the walls. And as you will hear, their music is as sophisticated and exquisite as their male contemporaries. Video of the musical performances will be included in the Perpetual Motion DVD, filmed by Valerie Barnes. 

Perpetual Motion is beautiful in sight and sound. The timeless language of music is the thread that weaves through our program. It connects us to a higher, collectivepurpose, and by taking humans out of the center of the universe, offers a meaningful perspective on our daily lives.

 

Donating to the Perpetual Motion Project through Fractured Atlas means that your donation will be tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law, unlike many crowd-sourcing platforms. At this point we have received donations covering almost half of recording costs; additional donations will fund guest artist fees, videography, mixing and mastering both the audio and video, production, distribution, marketing, promotion and Fractured Atlas processing fees.

We understand that some may not have the financial means to help fund our campaign, so here are some great ways you can help!

+ Follow and share this campaign on your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account (and be sure to tag @galileosdaughters and/or @buckyballmusic)

+ Subscribe to our Vimeo and YouTube channels

+ If you are an educator or community leader, share this project and campaign with your colleagues, friends and community. We are hoping to license Perpetual Motion for streaming on educational platforms, and to donate copies of the DVDs to public schools. 

+ If you have digital marketing, music business, events or project management skills, we are grateful for any and all suggestions to help get the word out!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! 
We hope you will join us in reaching our goal of making Perpetual Motion available to all!