“Helicoid, A Suite for Mankind” is a contemporary classical orchestral suite by award-winning composer Cornell Kinderknecht consisting 3 short sections with introduction, expressing the beauty, struggles and joys of the spiral nature of human interaction and growth. Cornell Kinderknecht writes, “I was asked by Amy Martin of Earth Rhythms (Dallas, Texas USA) to compose a theatrical piece to be choreographed for an annual winter show, that in just seven minutes, that illustrates the cycles that we as a human collective go through as we react, interact, learn, grow, form communities, give and receive. While the style of music and instrumentation was freely up to me, I pondered how to possibly touch this complicated subject within just seven minutes as it could easily take twenty to thirty minutes to fully develop any of the musical ideas. My concept was a suite with three short sections with an introduction, each section expressing multiple phases in our human development, and as a whole, represents a single iteration of an ongoing process that has an observable beginning, middle and ending but is really just part of a cycle or spiral that keeps repeating, duplicating itself, and growing in many directions. Next the task of naming the suite – what to call this? First I thought of a fractal, a geometric shape that when split into parts, each part is a reduced-size copy of the original shape. But, the spiral shape kept coming to mind, without a beginning and continuing to infinity. This felt more fitting as it is a continuous progression and the shape also relates to the double helix of DNA. A helicoid is a spiral or coiled shape that contains a helix at any point within the helicoid. It extends infinitely in all directions and is a trace of a line. OK, ‘Helicoid’ it is.” “Introduction” represents a vacuum of random occurrences; an ethereal state of complacency; little unrelated sparks of something trying to form. Section 1, “Big Bang,” represents an unexpected life or cultural occurrence that shakes the status quo. The pulsing drums are the pressing life force pushing everything along. Horns and strings express chaos, danger and disorganization that are the rules of the day as individuals are suddenly jolted into a position of interacting together. Differing forces are at work, each trying to gain power. Weaker elements are overtaken by stronger elements. Section 2, “Cooperation,” begins with a period of contemplation of what can be learned from what just occurred. The culture is crying out for order. The warm sounds of woodwinds represent the charismatic ideas that are formed which resonate strongly while providing direction and stability. As new ideas are introduced, they are integrated, forming a strong alliance. Over time, however, alliances fray and trust can be abused. Mechanized sounds represent misuse of power, a new form of chaos born of the manipulation of systems that were meant to unite. Section 3, “Unity,” represents the realization that the combination of the troubles and the joys in life it what allows us to be able to grow and love. The dance and simple tune anchored by the high flute and percussion, with underlying voices all united, express the richness and celebration of life and our collective connections with each other. On this recording: Cornell Kinderknecht - English horn, flutes, piano and keyboards / programming Martin McCall - drums and percussion