WORLD CHOIR FOR PEACE

“Peaceful Choir” is a relaxing musical journey through the breathtaking world of contemporary choral music.

Wonderful! But you may ask: what makes this album different from any other, when there are so many choirs and multiple CD recordings already in existence?

We have some very clear answers to that question:

... we are one of the first choirs in the world to produce an album using the new 360 Reality Audio Format from Sony. This recording technology is a brand-new listening experience: you are immersed in the live concert atmosphere from the comfort of your own living room, as if you are surrounded by a circle of singers. To achieve the expansive sound quality of the recording, the singers were positioned in a circle using individual microphones. This unique arrangement enables a 360 ° Reality audio mix of the album, which can be heard in special digital versions. You will be the first to use this new 3D sound aesthetic which will be exclusively available for you to download. ‘Peaceful Choir’ was produced by Grammy awarding-winning sound engineer, Gregor Zielinksy.

... we are giving you the opportunity to hear 19 exciting contemporary pieces, some specifically written for this album: Renown international composers have contributed entirely new works or arrangements for this unique recording project, including Sir Karl Jenkins, Grammy-nominated composer and pianist Hauschka, San Fermin mastermind Ellis Ludwig-Leone, composer icon John Rutter, Estonian pop-violinist Maarja Nuut and German soundtrack composer David Reichelt (8 Days). The album includes 15 world-premiere recordings and music by house-hold names such as Ola Gjeilo, Eric Whitacre, Max Richter, Hans Zimmer and Arvo Pärt. Next to them, critically acclaimed composers of choral music have contributed to the album, such as Grammy-nominated composers Kim André Arnesen and Jake Runestand as well as American composers Dan Forrest, and Elaine Hagenberg.

... given that there exists very limited choral music with only harp accompaniment, it was a special honour for us to work with the phenomenal harpist Lavinia Meijer. We also had the pleasure of performing alongside talented Sony Classical Artists: Esther Abrami and Maarja Nuut (violin); Gereon Theis (cello); Tim Allhoff and Josefa Schmidt (piano) who feature on our album.

Singing is one of the oldest and most valuable cultural assets of mankind. It is what unites us - across generations, cultures and national borders. Music is a universal language, which has sadly been far too seldom heard during these times. We had initially planned to cover the costs of the album with live performances, but since these have all been cancelled we really need your help. The coronavirus pandemic is financially destroying the music and arts communities throughout the world, with government funding at all levels cut or removed completely.

We believe that singing is a vital part of being human. We represent contemporary classic composers as they have so much to say to the world and we are delighted to feature them prominently on our album: Eric Whitacre, in his ‘Seal Lullaby’ describes the dying seas, Hauschka (Volker Bertelmann), whose piece ‘Fifteen Million Acres’ focuses on the apocalyptic and destructive power of the Australian bushfires. Strong emotions also play a major role in the lyrics we sing: the loneliness that is described in David Reichelt's ‘Wandering Soul’ as well as the wordless grief that Hans Zimmer addresses in his piece ‘Aurora’ - an allegedly ‘unsingable’ and monumental work to which our singers lend their voice to a whole new emotional depth. We truly believe that contemporary composers are no less ambassadors of our time than writers, painters, directors and choreographers. We have given them our voices so that their messages can be heard.
Our debut album is therefore aimed at all, whether connoisseurs of choral music or new discoverers who are open to what we - and the composers through our voices, have to say to the world.

We have already achieved so much: Our album ‘Peaceful Choir’ was recorded at the famous Tessmar recording studio in Hanover by an international group of 24 professional singers and was completed in just ten days only hours before Germany came under lockdown in March.

Travel expenses, accommodation and food costs were substantial but thanks to the singers and the artistic director, who completely waived their fee, we were already able in large part to cover these costs. What remains are the recording studio hire and post-production with its specialist recording system – as you can imagine this is not an insignificant amount.

With your contribution, you can help us to send our musical message of the importance of music out into the world. Right now, it is more essential than ever for human singing to be protected as a cultural asset, and for that, we need your help and support.
Together we can make it happen, because we firmly believe that #Singing Unites!

We can finance the production of our debut album ‘Peaceful Choir’:

• The costs for hiring the renowned Tessmar recording studio in Hanover
• The cost of post-production (editing music) of the album

All artists, including the artistic director, have expressly waived their fee.