Finding Harmony The King's Singers

• Michel Legrand (1932 - 2019):
• 1 One Day (arr. Richard Rodney Bennett) 02:49
• Alma Androzzo (1912 - 2001):
• 2 If I Can Help Somebody (arr. Stacey V. Gibbs) 03:36
• Leyb Yampolsky (1889 - 1972):
• 3 S’Dremlen feygl (arr. Toby Young) 04:11
• Traditional:
• 4 Tsintskaro 03:40
• James Oppenheim (1882 - 1932):
• 5 Bread and Roses (arr. Rebecca Dale) 03:30
• Urmas Sisask (b. 1960):
• 6 Heliseb väljadel 02:44
• Gustav Ernesaks (1908 - 1993):
• 7 Mu isamaa on minu arm 03:40
• Quirino Mendoza y Cortés (1862 - 1957):
• 8 Cielito lindo (arr. Jorge Cózatl) 03:35
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750):
• 9 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80 02:49
• William Byrd (1543 - 1623):
• 10 Ne irascaris, Domine – Civitas sancti tui 08:11
• Kesha:
• 11 Praying (arr. Rebecca Dale) 04:20
• Traditional:
• 12 Puirt a’ bheul (Mouth Music) (arr. Daryl Runswick) 02:38
• John Cameron:
• 13 O, chì, chì mi na mòrbheanna (arr. James MacMillan) 03:14
• Traditional:
• 14 Shen khar venakhi 03:22
• 15 Ayihlome/Qula kwedini (arr. Neo Muyanga) 03:03
• Enoch Sontonga:
• 16 Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (arr. Neo Muyanga) 03:11
• Ariana Grande:
• 17 One Last Time (arr. Richard Wilberforce) 04:22
• Abel Meeropol:
• 18 Strange Fruit (arr. Stacey V. Gibbs) 03:30
• Harry Dixon Loes:
• 19 This Little Light of Mine (arr. Stacey V. Gibbs) 03:03
• Total Runtime 01:09:28

Info for Finding Harmony

"Singing together binds us together. From the Protestant Reformation in Europe during the 1500s to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, there have been countless moments in history when songs have united nations, cultures and causes. This is still the case in today’s world. Finding Harmony is evidence that music has always been our common language. A unique collection of pieces that span the globe – including music that’s too often forgotten – each song is the key to a powerful true story about who we are and how we’ve got here. Together, Finding Harmony proves how deeply we can be moved by all kinds of stories when songs connect us to them, and to each other."

Finding Harmony is the name for the mission we have, to use our art form – singing – as a tool to find unity in a world which is more divided than it has been for a long time.

With the end of The King’s Singers’ fiftieth anniversary season in 2018, and the launch of the USA arm of our charity (The King’s Singers Global Foundation), we wanted to distill what it was that really motivated us to do what we do, and to do it well. Finding Harmony was the answer, as in so many different ways, it summarises what is most valuable in what we do. From late 2019 and beyond, Finding Harmony will lie at the heart of what our activities — from our artistic plans and programming, through specific projects planned through our charities, to educational work and commissioning. The idea of finding harmony will lie at the centre. In reality, it always has done, but right now more than ever, it feels like we should talk about it.

The craft

In the strictly musical sense, we find harmony every day — by creating the most beautiful sounds we can as a group, through hard work, team effort, and the ability to find compromise. We share this craft we’ve inherited around the world when we give workshops, summer schools, and meet choirs on the road. We help these groups to find harmony and elevate their music-making to the best it can be. But the coming years we want to maximise our educational reach, and work harder than ever to share our craft with singers all over the world, particularly those who don’t get much access to coaching and support.

Cultural harmony

Secondly, it has always been in The King’s Singers’ blood to find harmony between styles and art-forms. From the earliest days of the group, genre hasn’t been allowed to bind or define the group. In our concerts, music of many styles sits side by side; our recordings range from the sublime to the decidedly ridiculous, and hopefully cater for everyone no matter their taste. Increasingly, we want to counteract artistic boundaries and collaborate with artists of all kinds, all over the world, finding harmony between musical cultures, art-forms and genres.

Our world today

Thirdly, the particular geopolitical environment of the last few years has encouraged us to think about the real power that music can have in a world where polarised and tribalised societies, whose views of the world seem like they cannot be reconciled, find it almost impossible to communicate civilly. Through the global changes of the last few years, we have continued touring the world, singing in many of the countries that find themselves at odds with one another, or otherwise bitterly divided internally. We found that whether in Beijing, Washington, Paris, London, Moscow, Seoul or Toronto, singing in harmony seemed to bring warmth and joy to people of all political views and social backgrounds. Singing isn’t the territory of any one person, place or idea; it’s a language that can be spoken by anyone, and we believe that the combination of multiple voices in harmony, to create something more beautiful than the sum of its parts, could be an effective tool in helping people learn to talk to each other again.

We don’t want Finding Harmony to be just an album, or a concert programme, or a film. In an ideal world, it may well be all of those things, but for us it’s our mission. One small way in which we hope to encourage unity through the extraordinary power of music.

The King's Singers:
Patrick Dunachie, countertenor
Edward Button, countertenor
Julian Gregory, tenor
Christopher Bruerton, baritone
Nick Ashby, baritone
Jonathan Howard, bass

The King's Singers
Acclaimed worldwide for their virtuosity, life-affirming energy and charm, The King’s Singers are in global demand. Their work, synonymous with the very best in vocal ensemble performance, appeals to a vast international audience. Performing to hundreds of thousands of people each season, the group tours regularly to Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australasia. Instantly recognisable for their immaculate intonation, vocal blend, diction and incisive timing, The King’s Singers are consummate entertainers.

The group’s repertoire has evolved to become one of the most diverse and compelling imaginable. The King’s Singers have commissioned over 200 works, including landmark pieces from leading contemporary composers including Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, Sir James MacMillan, Krzysztof Penderecki, Toru Takemitsu, Sir John Tavener, Gabriela Lena Frank and Eric Whitacre. They have also commissioned arrangements of everything from jazz standards to pop chart hits, explored medieval motets and Renaissance madrigals, and encouraged young composers to write new scores.

In addition to performing to capacity audiences and creating highly regarded and much-loved recordings, The King’s Singers share their artistry through numerous workshops and masterclasses around the world. In June 2017, the group will host their inaugural U.S. Summer School at DePauw University, Indiana and in July 2017 will return for their 3rd U.K. Summer School at Royal Holloway (part of the University of London) where they are also Ensemble in Residence. Among the work supported by The King’s Singers Foundation, A Carol for Christmas is a composition competition that seeks to encourage young and up-coming composers, giving the winners the chance for their piece to be performed in King’s College Chapel (Cambridge, UK).

Double Grammy® award-winning artists, the group were honoured in 2009 for their Signum Classics release, Simple Gifts, and again in 2012 for their contribution to Eric Whitacre’s Light and Gold album on Universal/Decca. Recently voted into Gramophone Hall of Fame, rave reviews and repeated sell-out concerts confirm that The King’s Singers remain one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles.

This album contains no booklet.