Voces8 - Winter (2016)

Breaking stereotypical expectations of a seasonal album, Voces8s new release Winter paints a portrait of the season through a sparse and powerful aural landscape, invoking a meditative, inspiring feeling of solitude and union .

A contemporary reflection on the serene restfulness of winter. Eight exceptional voices are joined by sibling duo Mari & Hakon Samuelsen (violin & cello) and other guests, taking inspiration from composers from Estonia, Latvia, Norway, Iceland and elsewhere.

Includes four world premiere recordings, notably a brand new work Winter, written exclusively for the album by award-winning composer Rebecca Dale.

Featuring significant new arrangements of For Now I Am Winter (Olafur Arnalds), Come Wander With Me (Jeff Alexander), and the folk tune The Snow It Melts The Soonest (previously covered by Sting), plus re-imaginings of established melodies such as Praetorius - Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (arr. Jan Sandström) and Holsts In The Bleak Midwinter (arr. Ola Gjeilo) .

Tracklist:

01. Arnalds: For Now I Am Winter - Voces8
02. Praetorius, M.: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen - Voces8
03. Dale: Winter - Hakon Samuelsen and Huw Watkins and Mari Samuelsen and Voces8
04. Pott: Balulalow - Voces8
05. Pärt: Nunc Dimittis - Voces8
06. Vasks: Plainscapes- Plainscape I - Hakon Samuelsen and Mari Samuelsen and Voces8
07. Vasks: Plainscapes- Plainscape II - Hakon Samuelsen and Mari Samuelsen and Voces8
08. Vasks: Plainscapes- Plainscape III - Hakon Samuelsen and Mari Samuelsen and Voces8
09. Alexander: Come Wander With Me - Benjamin Roskams and Voces8
10. Holst: In The Bleak Midwinter - Voces8
11. Vasks: The Fruits Of Silence - Huw Watkins and Voces8
12. Rachmaninov: Vespers (All-Night Vigil), Op.37- "Nyne otpushchayeshi" - Voces8
13. Bingham: The Darkness Is No Darkness - Voces8
14. Traditional: The Snow It Melts The Soonest - Eleanor Turner and Voces8