Translations, a new Ešenvalds album by Portland State Chamber Choir and Ethan Sperry was released on Naxos and is available for purchase, download, and streaming now. The album is the sequel to The Doors of Heaven (Naxos 2017) and features seven works, including the world premiere recording of Translation (2016) on a text by Oregon’s poet laureate Paulann Petersen.
The album explores the idea of ‘translation’ or the transformations that occur within us when we encounter the power of nature, legends, or the divine. PSCC conductor Ethan Sperry: ‘Each piece of Ešenvalds’ music addresses our essential nature — from the frustrations at our limitations to our desire to touch the divine — and translates this into musical language that moves us to our very core, deepening our understanding of what it means to be human.’
Listen to previews and order, download, or stream Translations.
Tracklist:
1. O salutaris hostia
2. The Heavens’ Flock
3. Translation
4. My Thoughts / Мысли мои
5. Vineta
6. The Legend of the Walled-In Woman
7. In paradisum
Translations was recorded in 2019 at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Mount Angel, OR, with producer Erick Lichte, and engineers John Atkinson and Doug Tourtelot.