Conspirare, Miró Quartet & Craig Hella Johnson - House of Belonging (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Conspirare, the nonpareil and GRAMMY®-winning choral ensemble from Austin, Texas, presents an emotionally rich and wide-ranging program with House of Belonging.

Known worldwide for “expanding the boundaries of choral performance” (Wall Street Journal), Conspirare has for this album teamed up with the superb Miró Quartet to present a tapestry of intriguing new works by both well-known and emerging American composers.

Conspirare’s founder and leader, Craig Hella Johnson, commissioned many of the pieces on House of Belonging and composed the opening track himself. The album’s texts convey and explore themes about spirituality, philosophy, the natural world and the human need for deep connection with others.

Composers Kevin Puts, Derrick Skye, Alex Berko, Moira Smiley, Ross Lee Finney, Shara Nova, Michael Schachter and Margaret Bonds were recruited for the project. The emotive texts include verses by Euan Tait, John Muir, William Stafford, Wendell Berry, Rabindranath Tagore, David Whyte, Langston Hughes, Ludwig van Beethoven and Hildegard of Bingen.

Throughout the album, one is struck again and again by the marvels of the Conspirare style — an uncommon transparency of choral sound with ethereal characteristics, surges of power at the right times and exceptional vocal solos.

Tracklist:
01. Johnson: Reaching
02. Puts: Home
03. Skye: Black Ocean: Anthems Of A Crowd 7
04. Berko: Sacred Place: I. Opening Prayer
05. Berko: Sacred Place: II. Amidah
06. Berko: Sacred Place: III. Shema
07. Berko: Sacred Place: IV. Mi Shebeirach
08. Berko: Sacred Place: V. Kaddish
09. Berko: Sacred Place: VI. Closing Prayer
10. Smiley: Haiku
11. Finney: See How the Earth
12. Nova: The House of Belonging
13. Schachter: O Vorsehung
14. Bonds: Joy
15. Berko: You Through Me
16. Puts: Evergreen
17. Nova: I Have Never Loved Someone (Arr. for Choir by Nate Thacher)


Thanks to the Original customer!