The New Consort: Return / Revive

About the Program

Return/Revive

RETURN/REVIVE pairs two major works of grief and hope: one ancient, and one in its world premiere. First, Tudor composer Robert White’s Lamentations a5, which gorgeously and viscerally expresses Jeremiah’s sorrow at the Biblical destruction of Jerusalem, are all the more poignant in light of his tragically early death from the Black Plague in 1574. In response, acclaimed composer and ensemble member Jonathan Woody’s Lamentation, written for The New Consort with the support of Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Grant, explores modern experiences of LGBTQ+ loss and otherness, but also celebrates the ability of communities to mold adversity into hope and purpose. Several works by living composers complete RETURN/REVIVE, creating a kind of post-Christian healing ritual out of music by David Lang, Billie Eilish, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and more – a perfect emotional journey for the weekend of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day.

About the Artists

Winners of the American Prize in Chamber Music, The New Consort is a vocal chamber ensemble dedicated to exploring the roles that musical ritual and community can play in 21st-century lives. The ensemble programs historical works for voices, then recontextualizes them for a modern audience. The group’s mission encompasses commissioning and highlighting significant new works that think deeply about vocal music’s legacy and future — knitting rituals and stories out of their performances, and marrying old and new wisdom about inspiring empathy, community, and awe. The ensemble bring the unique emotive power of vocal ensemble music out of its historical place in religious ceremony, using it instead to humanize the marginalized and illuminate thematic connections among creators in many genres of musical expression.

Founded by baritone & Artistic Director Brian Mummert, The New Consort has been presented by organizations including Trinity College, Cambridge; Tippet Rise Art Center; Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue; Williams College; Sacred Music at Columbia University; Princeton University Chapel;The Bach Store, an NYC pop-up concert hall; Pegasus Early Music and New York State Baroque; and at concert halls, churches, and schools throughout the Northeast United States. Recent and upcoming commissions include projects by Rosśa Crean, Jonathan Woody, Simon Frisch, Hope Littwin, Niccolo Seligmann, Ethan McGrath, and Sarah Meneely-Kyder. Members of The New Consort appear as soloists, choristers, and conductors with some of the world’s best-respected ensembles, but relish the opportunity to collaborate as chamber musicians.