The award-winning London vocal ensemble SANSARA, with Artistic Directors Tom Herring and Benjamin Cunningham, makes it's Resonus Classics debut with a striking programme of works for Advent and Christmas both old and new. This compelling programme explores the anticipation of Christmas through works by masters of the Renaissance alongside pieces by living composers combining to conjure an aura of mystery and excitement. SANSARA is an award-winning vocal ensemble focused on the performance of a cappella choral music. As a collective body of voices, a choir is a living, breathing instrument with unparalleled expressive potential. SANSARA realises this through direct and honest music-making, always striving to conjure compelling atmospheres, communicating with clarity and integrity. SANSARA works as a chamber ensemble without a single director or conductor. The result is a highly engaged and versatile group of professional musicians, working together with a unified voice to express a shared artistic vision.
The title “Introducing” is somewhat misleading as Steven Herring has already made a splashing debut as a recording artist last year in Kirk Knuffke’s “Witness” album (SCCD 31859) that received numerous raving reviews for Steven’s commanding performance in a wide-ranging program of opera/gospel/jazz.
The Julliard graduate operatic baritone singer Herring here on his leader debut shows off his dazzling talent as a jazz crooner exploring the Great American Songbook tradition.
“Herring's commanding, resonant voice is a focal point of this music. He can perform as a romantic crooner, gospel shouter or opera singer as well as integrate himself into the fabric of the instrumental byplay.” (Jerome Wilson – AAJ on “Witness”)
Bass-baritone Jacob Will made his New York Philharmonic debut as a soloist in the American premiere of the “Messa per Rossini,” a performance televised live nationwide. An experienced concert artist, Mr. Will has appeared with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vladamir Ashkenazy and with the Cabrillo Festival under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies. He has sung with the San Francisco Symphony in the “St. Matthew Passion,” with the international Bach Festival of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, in the “St. John Passion,” and with the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra in Frank Martin’s “Le mystere de la Nativite.” A native of Harstville, South Carolina, Mr. Will attended Furman University and graduated from the University of South Carolina and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He participated in the Merola and Adler Fellowship Programs of the San Francisco Opera and has been a prizewinner in various international singing competitions including the Munich Competition and the Queen Elizabeth Competition of Brussels. On this release, Mr. Will sings the poems of Edgar Allan Poe, as set to music by composers Judith Cloud, N. Lincoln Hanks, John Valerio, and Tayloe Harding.
While the unifying thread which links these works is that of loss, the underlying focus is an uplifting celebration of life and love. Gabriel Jackson's Requiem combines traditional solemnity with poems which embrace wide-ranging spirituality, resulting in images of light and radiant optimism. Contrasting poignancy of expression is heard in personal tributes from John Tavener and Francis Pott, while Bob Chilcott uses Pachelbel's famous Canon to set Oscar Wilde's Requiescat. Vasari Singers' Great British Anthems (8.572504) was described as 'essential listening' by Gramophone. Founded in 1980, Vasari Singers is among the leading chamber choirs in Britain, performing music ranging from Renaissance to contemporary. The choir performs regularly in London as well as visiting many of England's cathedrals to sing services, with recent trips to Canterbury, Salisbury, Bath and Ripon. The choir and Jeremy Backhouse are deeply committed to contemporary music and have commissioned over twenty works since 2000, including works by Francis Pott and Gabriel Jackson.
