The music reflects the powerful and electric quality of the northern lights, which must have seemed both mesmerising and terrifying to people in the past when no one knew what they were, and superstition prevailed. In contrast, Northern Lights takes its inspiration from Gjeilo's homeland, Norway, and the 'terrible beauty' of the natural phenomenon that may be observed there. Evening Prayer (2010) 5:54 Ola Gjeilo (piano) Harrington String Quartet Alison Chaney (soprano) Ted Belledin (tenor saxophone) Phoenix Chorale/Charles. one of those pieces where the text is very much the servant of the music, not the other way around'. He describes Phoenix as 'symphonic in nature. When Gjeilo first visited the choir in Arizona, he had never been to the desert before, and the 'quiet beauty and barrenness of the landscape' moved him deeply.
Phoenix, a setting of the Agnus Dei, is dedicated to Charles Bruffy and the Phoenix Chorale in honour of its fiftieth anniversary.
Soon after, Gjeilo was invited to be the Chorale's first Composer-in-Residence. Bruffy brought Gjeilo's music to the Chorale and its audiences, and the response was immediate. Enter to browse & buy sheet music and albums, watch videos, listen to tracks, and to find more info about Ola's music. Also featured on the disc are the Harrington String Quartet, Emmanuel Lopez (cello), Alison Chaney (soprano), Ted Belledin (tenor saxophone), and the composer playing piano on several of the tracks.
When he first heard Gjeilo's Ubi caritas, Charles Bruffy was instantly hooked, finding the music refreshing and magnetic. An album of choral music by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, featuring the Grammy-winning Phoenix Chorale, conducted by Charles Bruffy. The Grammy-award-winning Phoenix Chorale explores the magnetic music of New York-based, Norwegian-born composer Ola Gjeilo, Northern Lights contains five world premiere recordings and three choral pieces which were either commissioned, composed, or dedicated to the Phoenix Chorale.