A work filled with ambition, Circlesong is a musical portrayal of the human life cycle as captured in the indigenous poetry of North America. Based on poetry from the Chinook, Comanche, Dakota, Eskimo, Iroquois, Kwakiutl, Navajo, Ojibwa, Pueblo, Seminole, Sioux, and Yaqui traditions, the thirteen movements, in seven parts, mark the different stages of life, from birth and childhood to adulthood, middle age and death. With energetic percussion accompaniment, climactic moments for tutti choir, tender unaccompanied passages and solo song, Circlesong is a work of impressive drama, variety, and depth, performed here by the Grammy® Award winning Houston Chamber Choir under Robert Simpson.
Founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Robert Simpson, the Houston Chamber Choir received the 2019 Grammy® Award for Best Choral Performance for its recording of the complete works of Maurice Duruflé (also available from Signum). Other honours include Chorus America’s Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and the American Prize, Professional Choir Division. Dubbed by Jamie Bernstein as“the choral equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters” the Houston Chamber Choir is as comfortable singing jazz with Christian McBride and Dave Brubeck as performing Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel with violist Kim Kashkashian, and Mass Observation by Tarik O’Regan.
“I was impressed by their singing of Circlesong. They make a most attractive sound. The singing is very well disciplined and there’s good attention to both dynamics and diction…The instrumentalists are uniformly excellent…They’ve recorded the performances very successfully…This is a most enjoyable disc which I hope will increase awareness among other choirs of these rewarding pieces, especially Circlesong” – MusicWeb International
★★★★ “Circlesong is a choral work packed full of fun, with vibrant, dynamic sections alongside more reflective, ethereal moments. Placed alongside a series of shorter pieces by the contemporary composer here, there’s plenty to enjoy” – BBC Music Magazine
“The Houston Performers give an immaculate, eloquent performance of a charming, life-affirming piece.” – Choir and Organ