NEW RECORDING: “COME TO THE WOODS”

THE SINGERS AND CONDUCTOR MATTHEW CULLOTON RELEASE COME TO THE WOODS, A NEW RECORDING OF AMERICAN CHORAL WORKS ON ARSIS AUDIO LABEL 

Media Contact: Janette Davis, Executive Director (jdavis@singersmca.org / 651.917.1948)

SAINT PAUL, May 21, 2022 – The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists (“The Singers”) announces the release of Come to the Woods, a new recording of music by Dominick Argento, Jake Runestad, Moira Smiley, John Corigliano, and Samuel Barber. Artistic Director Matthew Culloton conducts The Singers alongside pianist Stephen Swanson and guest soloist Alma Neuhaus. This is the ensemble’s first record release on the Arsis Audio label, long connected to the recordings of American music through the E.C. Schirmer Publishing Group.

“Recording some of the great American choral works by Barber and Argento and pairing them with stunning new works by Jake Runestad and Moira Smiley has been a dream of mine for some time,” says Culloton. “This whole album shows the lyrical and sonorous breadth and wide accessibility of American choral music – and listeners will deeply connect with the marriage of music and these inspiring texts.”

Mezzo soprano Alma Neuhaus is featured as a guest artist on John Corigliano’s Fern Hill. “Alma sang the most beautiful rendition of this solo,” offers Culloton, “it is the most gorgeous rendition I’ve ever heard. She brings a spirit of fresh humanity to Dylan Thomas’ poetry, drawing the listener in immediately.”

About Come to the Woods, composer Joshua Shank says: “This is impeccably programmed, performed, and recorded. It’s made me fall in love with Dominick Argento’s choral writing all over again (which is no small task) and contains what I think is hands down the best interpretation of Barber’s Reincarnations (Matt’s tempo on The Coolin is maybe the most perfect I’ve ever heard; it fixes some of the problems young Sam baked into his score). And the Moira Smiley work the album goes out on is nothing short of miraculous; the choral version of a broad, grateful smile.”

The Singers’ organization, founded in 2004, has established itself as one of the leading choirs in the United States, having premiered nearly 90 new works as part of its annual concert series. This CD is the choir’s 10th release, and their first since “Tonight, Eternity Alone: Choral Music of René Clausen.” Culloton and The Singers have appeared by invitation at The Ravinia Festival in Chicago four times, and have performed for regional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and Chorus America.

Come to the Woods is available on Naxos Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and through The Singers and the E.C. Schirmer Publishing Group. 

Come to the Woods works list: