On July 9, 2021, the Antioch Chamber Ensemble releases “Robert Kyr: In Praise of Music.” The choral ensemble's album touches on themes of conflict, celebration, peace-making, and music itself throughout the album's ten works, with texts by Kyr and a variety of other sources. We spoke to Antioch’s executive director Stephen Sands about the recording process, collaborating with composer Robert Kyr, and what makes his music so special. Pre-order the album on Amazon here.
What qualities make a choral ensemble great (generally speaking) and what makes the Antioch Chamber Ensemble stand out among other choirs?
Cohesiveness as an ensemble and ability to feel the music as a chamber ensemble. Antioch has the ability to very quickly learn a piece of music, internalize it and bring a blended, cohesive sound to a performance.
How did you get to know the composer Robert Kyr? What made you decide to devote an entire album to his music?
We met Robert when we had our residency at Harvard University in 2016. Robert coached all of the undergraduate composers whose music we workshopped that week. We also were introduced to his music and our joint venture was born from there! We decided to record Robert's music during another residency at Washington and Lee University in the fall of 2018. His music is so diverse and he is such a prolific composer, that it was quite easy to make a disk of one composer that doesn't all sound "the same".
How involved was Kyr in the recording process?
Robert has been involved from the start. He helped curate the music, sometimes rearranging it for our voicing. We really split the work 50/50 and have very much enjoyed working with him.
What challenges are you presented with in the recording studio vs. performing in front of a live audience?
We recorded in the main hall at the Lenfest Center for the Arts at Washington and Lee University. The challenge with recording versus live performance is that singers will often prioritize being 100% correct over communicating with an audience. When you have an audience in front of you, it is easy to feel the reciprocal emotion that a piece creates. When recording, you need to do that as an ensemble and individual musician. No live performance is ever perfect, but when recording, you really do try to get as close as you can to perfection to make the editing process easier.
What do you hope listeners will take away after hearing “In Praise of Music”?
I hope listeners will enjoy Robert's music. He is such a gifted composer whose music deserves to be heard far and wide.