Weblogs.BaltimoreSun.com: “On the Record: Conspirare's 'Sing Freedom'”

[Sing Freedom: African American Spirituals; Conspirare, Craig Hella Johnson & Company of Voices; Harmonia Mundi 807525 (2011)]

Weblogs Baltimore Sun

December 5, 2011

Tim Smith's Clef Notes & Drama Queens

"On the Record: Conspirare's Sing Freedom'

If, like me, you value spirituals as highly as lieder, there is a new recording you'll want to grab."  "It's from an Austin-based professional choral ensemble called Conspirare that has been going strong for two decades.

“The reasons for that success are evident throughout "Sing Freedom: African American Spirituals," released on the Harmonia Mundi label. To begin with, Conspirare, led by its founder Craig Hella Johnson, is a first-rate choral force, boasting impeccable articulation, intonation, diction and rhythmic clarity, not to mention a warm, seamless blend. What seals the deal is the exquisite musicality these choristers offer in a rewarding assortment of well-known and more obscure spirituals.”

[This recording is a “Super Audio CD”. The works include Soon ah will be done, a spiritual arranged by William Levi Dawson (1899-1990). Dawson is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com]