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February 14, 2007
Conspirare - A Group to be Watching
Thanks to Paul for introducing me to a wonderful new chorus - Conspirare - based in Austin, but a national / professional group. For Christmas, he and Carolyn gave me a recording of "Requiem" - a 2-CD set that begins with the Howells Requiem (one of my all-time favorites) and includes the Frank Martin Mass (another favorite) plus some new pieces that I really love --- especially Three Songs of Faith by Eric Whitacre and We Remember Them, by my friend Don Grantham. (Don directed a choir I sang in when we lived in Austin -- small world.) The CD was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards - congratulations!
I dragged out my trusty Cassell's Latin Dictionary (from 8th grade - what a packrat), and found that conspirare means "to breathe together." They're doing a lot more than breathing together. They are creating incredible sounds that echo in my mind for hours and days on end.
Here is a recent story about the group, and here is another.
Apropos Valentines Day (today), Paul also mentioned a recent PBS special called "The Mystery of Love" that used Conspirare as the focus of a section on "Community." Betty Sue Flowers (Prof. and Director of the LBJ Library) was one of the commentators in the story. Here and here are relevant stories.
I eagerly await their next CD!
Posted by hgroteva at February 14, 2007 8:54 PM | Choral Music | Texas