The Grail Singers have released five CDs:
- The Arc of Life; William Byrd: Seven Penitential Psalms and More presents an unusual program on the arc of life, in chant and polyphony. For centuries, people attending the Tridentine Mass heard and sang chant throughout their lives, especially during major life events. The chants on this recording highlight such events from Catholic liturgy including baptism, a prayer for resilience, the wedding mass, and the absolution and burial procession for the dead. Central to this program are William Byrd’s 1589 settings of the Seven Penitential Psalms, which the choir performed during the 400th anniversary year of Byrd’s death. These works by Byrd had never previously been recorded together, and the Grail Singers have recorded all seven on this disc. Additional selections by Pérotin, Moira Smiley, and David Lang round out the recording, serving as reflections on the chants and the Penitential Psalms.
- The Hidden Spirit is a collection of polyphony by six early women composers, including two pieces by Barbara Strozzi.
- Magnificat features two rarely performed early settings of the Magnificat by Cozzolani and Porpora, as well as works by Dunstable and Leonarda and modern works in the chant tradition by Biebl and Andriessen.
- Francesco Gasparini’s Mass in G for 3 Canti, 2 Alti, and Organo is one of the few examples of a complete mass written for high voices and figured bass. The work was composed for the capable women singers of the Ospedale della Pietà and is divided into sections of contrasting styles. The Ann Arbor Grail Singers performed the Michigan premiere of this work in concert on November 13, 2011. Grail Singers’ director Carmen Cavallaro prepared a new edition of this unusual piece, long out of print. To ensure the accuracy of their performing edition, the Grail Singers commissioned photographs of the composer’s autograph score from its owner, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England.
- Sounds of the Spirit was praised for the choir’s ability to “communicate intensity and deeply-felt emotion while maintaining the flowing lines of chant and early polyphony” (Clarence R. J. Rivers, PhD.; President, Stimuli, Inc.).
Sample Recordings
Please enjoy these tracks from our most recent CD, The Arc of Life, and from one of our early CDs, Sounds of the Spirit.