Shadows on the Stars

Featuring

Ethan Sperry
Morten Lauridsen
Naomi LaViolette
Vijeta Sathyaraj
Oregon Repertory Singers
Joan Szymko

John Muehleisen
Steven Goodwin
Stacey Philipps
Giselle Wyers

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Morten Lauridsen's Madrigali, considered by the album's conductor to be the finest choral cycle of the twentieth century, embodies a struggle with dissonance that resolves in a way ahead of its time.

Recording & Production

This album includes both live concert recordings from April 2017 and studio session recordings from January 2018.

Performer Biography

Ethan Sperry, the artistic director of Oregon Repertory Singers, has led the PSU Chamber Choir to win international competitions in Italy and the Oregon Repertory Singers to place second in folk music at a festival in Wales.

Composer Biography

Morten Lauridsen, whose music is featured on this album, was named an 'American Choral Master' by the National Endowment for the Arts and received the National Medal of Arts in 2007.

Recording & Production

The album features American premiere recordings of Morten Lauridsen's two newest choral works, Prayer and Ya eres mía, and world premiere recordings of works by Pacific Northwest composers.

Composer Biography

Before his career as a composer, Morten Lauridsen, a native of Portland, Oregon, worked as a Forest Service firefighter and lookout near Mt. St. Helens.

Interpretation

The Oregon Repertory Singers aimed to perform Morten Lauridsen's Madrigali with the lightness of a madrigal ensemble in faster movements and more depth in slower movements, a version not heard on previous recordings.