Gilbertson: Born (CD review)

Michael Gilbertson: Born; Edie Hill: Spectral Spirits; Gilbertson: Returning. Donald Nally, The Crossing. Navona NV6449.

By Karl W. Nehring

The Crossing is a chamber choir from Philadelphia that specializes in new music. Not only does the group perform new music, but it also plays an active role in seeking out and commissioning new works to perform. For example, the piece that opens this program, Born, by American composer Michael Gilbertson (b. 1987), was commissioned by The Crossing’s conductor Donald Nally and his spouse Steven Hyder in memory of Nally’s mother. The text, which is thoughtfully included in the liner booklet, is based on a poem by the late Polish woman poet Wisława Szymborska (1923-2012), who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1996. It contemplates birth, familial relationships, and the human condition. The poetry is vivid and moving; having it set to music and sung with such conviction as this small choir brings to it adds up to a striking emotional experience for the listener, who will have to decide whether to enjoy the sheer beauty of the sound without referring to the printed text to completely capture every word the first time around or save that for a later listening session. There’s no right or wrong sequence – just be grateful the text is available if needed for complete comprehension.  

The next composition on this release, Spectral Spirits, by another American composer, Edie Hill (b. 1962), was also commissioned by The Crossing and premiered in Philadelphia and New York in 2019. The Crossing describes the piece as a “memorial to lost birds,” structured in four “pillars” or sections representing four extinct bird species: the Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, Eskimo Curlew, and Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. “Composing Spectral Spirits was as much a study of humans as it was of birds,” writes Hill. “I found myself asking how human beings managed to obliterate these species. In some cases, populations were brought back from the brink of extinction only to be brought down again… Why, if we see something alive, vibrant, with striking color, do we want to possess it to the point of oblivion? Why is it permissible to destroy nature in the name of ‘progress’ or financial gain? In the end: we all lose. I grieve every day for the state of our planet and her creatures. Composing Spectral Spirits was a gift that gave me a chance to funnel this grief.”

The section for each bird has a formal structure that consists of a brief introduction, a naming, and then the main sung text, based on a poem by Holly J. Hughes from her book Passings, which contains 15 poems about birds that are highly endangered or extinct. Again, the texts for all sections are given in the booklet, along with a more detailed explanation of how Ms. Hill chose to compose the piece in this particular manner. In any event, the overall effect is haunting. The way the birds are briefly introduced, formally named, and then tenderly portrayed in verse that is sung so exquisitely by the choir is bound to capture the ears and imagination of the listener, regardless of whether he or she has any particular interest in birds, living or extinct. For my money, Spectral Spirits is one of the most interesting and engaging new compositions that I have heard in quite some time. Brava, Ms. Hill!

Closing the program is another work by composer Michael Gilbertson, titled Returning. The text is by Kai Hoffman-Krull who based his lyrics on the story of David and Jonathan from the Hebrew Bible, exploring themes of friendship, fraternal and passionate love, absence, and longing in the form of an unspoken conversation between the two. Having the written text is especially helpful in this instance to clearly differentiate between the two characters.

The engineering team has done a good job of capturing the sound of the choir. There is no harshness or glare, a decent stereo spread, and just enough ambience to give a sense of space without producing suffucient echo to smear the sound. The liner notes provide useful information on the composers and their compositions as well as complete texts – the only thing I could have wanted more would have been pictures of the birds featured in Spectral Spirits, but yes, I know I am being way too greedy. If you enjoy choral music, this is one you don’t want to overlook.

KWN