Willow Consort: The Road Home

Aim

Help us to release our first CD of American choral music in collaboration with Convivium Records.

In July 2017, we recorded our first CD of American choral music - 'The Road Home' with Convivium Records.

The CD will feature a number of pieces we were delighted to give the UK premiere performances of including Dominick DiOrio's setting of Mary Elizabeth Frye's famous poem, Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep, 'I Am' and Bern Herbolsheimer's harrowing work, 'The Seven Last Words.'  To see a full list of the repertoire on the CD please click here.

'The Seven Last Words' is a piece that is very close to the choir and one that we believe deserves to be far better known. Sadly Bern passed away shortly before we began rehearsing his music and never got the chance to hear us give the UK premiere. The CD is dedicated to his memory. Below is a clip of us rehearsing this amazing music in the sublime setting of York Minster.

We are delighted to record a brand new work commissioned especially for the CD by our composer-in-residence, Carter Sligh. 'Soar Away' is based on a traditional style of sacred choral music originating in New England known as Sacred Harp. The name of the tradition comes from the title of the shape-note book from which the music is sung, The Sacred Harp. Carter's piece is based on the idea of a group of singers in a church up in the mountains, and everything other than the theme directly lifted from the hymnbook are echoes, bouncing off the mountains.

NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP! 

Our costs include hiring a producer and engineer for three days, hiring the recording venue as well as paying and accommodating our singers. Having recorded the music, we now need to meet the cost of producing and publicising the finished product. We have raised some of the money to help release this CD but we are still some way short of the funds needed to release the disc.

This project successfully funded on 10th January 2018