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Terra Nostra — A Tour de Force For Composer and Singers
Terra Nostra, the world-premiere recording of Stacy Garrop’s groundbreaking oratorio, explores humanity’s relationship with the earth, including climate change. An enormous artistic undertaking and a true collaborative effort, the album features the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Northwestern’s Alice Millar Chapel Choir, Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly Chicago Children’s Choir), and professional vocal soloists (soprano Michelle Areyzaga, mezzo-soprano Leah Dexter, tenor Jesse Donner, and bass-baritone David Govertsen), all conducted by Stephen Alltop.
Garrop reflects:
When I was commissioned to write the piece, I was in Occidental, California…. I spent the weekend looking at these huge redwoods above me and thinking of how peaceful it was, how beautiful it was. What would happen if these redwoods weren’t here?”
Terra Nostra focuses on the relationship between mankind and our planet, how this relationship has shifted over time, and how we can re-establish a harmonious balance. Featuring poetry by Walt Whitman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and Wendell Barry, among others, the work is divided into three parts titled Creation of the World, The Rise of Humanity, and Searching for Balance.
Garrop’s work has been featured on a dozen Cedille albums (including an all-Garrop orchestral CD). She credits this documentation and promotion of her artistry with her emergence as a full-time freelance composer. About Cedille’s recordings she has said: “These recordings have opened doors for me that I otherwise would not have been able to get through. And that leads to lots more performances, not just nationally, but internationally, and also to commissions from groups that I never would’ve had any contact with.”
The oratorio was recorded in February 2023 and is scheduled for April 2024 release on Earth Day. The album is funded by James H. Stone, Theodore Foss & Kent Dymak, and the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Fund for Vocal Recordings.
Recommended
From Chicago-based composter Stacy Garrop comes INVICTUS, Latin for “unconquered.” The work unfolds across four movements and an interlude, moving between lyrical introspection, fierce determination, and triumphant resolve, with Grammy-nominated pianist Marta Aznavoorian and the Chicago Philharmonic under the direction of Artistic Director Scott Speck. Available 5/8.
Haymarket Opera Company presents early-18th-century master Leonardo Vinci’s rare operatic gem, Artaserse (1730). A prominent figure of the Neapolitan School of opera, whose work influenced composers such as Johann Adolph Hasse and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Vinci’s three-act opera seria centers on the Persian prince, Artaserse, who must bring his father’s murderer to justice amidst betrayal, deceit, and mistaken identity.
To celebrate Stacy Garrop‘s piano concerto, INVICTUS (5/8 release), based on a poem about perseverance and resilience in adversity, a playlist of Cedille tracks that represent struggle against prohibitive odds — explicitly in words or as program music, or inherently in their musical nature.
Enjoy 25% off Cedille’s Weekly Featured Release.