Conspirare is a choral ensemble based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. They were formed in 1991 by conductor and musical director Craig Hella Johnson as New Texas Festival but did not begin to regularly perform until 1999. They have released over 25 albums and one DVD and have been nominated for eight

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

s. Their sixth Grammy-nominated album, ''The Sacred Spirit of Russia'' (Harmonia Mundi HMU 807526), was the winner of the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance. Conspirare has commissioned works from composers including David Lang,

Tarik O'Regan Tarik Hamilton O'Regan (; born 1 January 1978) is a British and American composer. His compositions number over 100 and are partially represented on 43 recordings which have been recognised with two Grammy nominations. He is also the recipien ...

, Jocelyn Hagen, Donald Grantham,

Eric Whitacre Eric Edward Whitacre (born January2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker best known for his choral music. In March2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall ...

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...

Mark Adamo Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

, Robert Kyr,

Jake Heggie Jake Heggie (born March 31, 1961) is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestral, and chamber music. He is best known for his operas and art songs as well as for his collaborations with internationally renowned performers and writers. Bio ...

, Eric Banks, and

Jake Runestad Jake Runestad (born 20 May 1986) is an American composer and conductor of classical music based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has composed music for a wide variety of musical genres and ensembles, but has achieved greatest acclaim for his wor ...

History

Conspirare, originally New Texas Festival, was formed in 1991 as a week-long series of vocal performances every summer in Austin, Texas. They did not begin having a fuller schedule of concerts until 1999. They regularly play music festivals in the area including specials for Christmas and in celebration of the music of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

. They have also played such renowned venues as Carnegie Hall and

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

. Their music was featured in the 2006 documentary ''The Mystery of Love''.

Recordings

''through the green fuse''

Their first release was 2004's ''through the green fuse'' on Clarion Records. It was recorded in early August 2004 over two days at the

Skywalker Ranch Skywalker Ranch is a movie ranch and workplace of film director, writer and producer George Lucas located in a secluded area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, named for an early-20th-centur ...

. Robert Faires of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' described the album's qualities as "sensitivity to text, purity of vocal tone, and, of course, those long, lush harmonies, with voices melding seamlessly into sounds that are achingly lovely". Tracks include " Deep River" and "

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited Perception, sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefuln ...

''Requiem''

''Requiem'', their second offering, was also on Clarion in 2006, and was re-released on Harmonia Mundi Records in 2009. It was recorded at the Troy Music Hall,

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

. The album has a "somber theme of death and loss", with

Requiem Masses A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

Herbert Howells Herbert Norman Howells (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music. Life Background and early education Howells was born in Lydney, Glouces ...

and Ildebrando Pizzetti and a memorial for

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

victims by

Eliza Gilkyson Eliza Gilkyson (born August 24, 1950, Hollywood, California) is a Taos, New Mexico-based folk musician.Gilkyson moved her base from Austin, Texas, to Taos in 2020. She is the daughter of songwriter and folk musician Terry Gilkyson and his wife, ...

. The album received two Grammy nominations for Best Engineered Album, Classical and Best Choral Performance. In 2010, it received an

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

, the Dutch equivalent on a Grammy.

''Threshold of Night''

''Tarik O'Regan: Threshold of Night'' is Conspirare's third release. It is a collection of compositions by

. The chorus is accompanied by the Company of Strings. It was released by Harmonia Mundi Records in 2008. The album was recorded in October 2007, and like ''Requiem'', at the Troy Music Hall. The tracks are based on the works of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

Kathleen Raine Kathleen Jessie Raine CBE (14 June 1908 – 6 July 2003) was a British poet, critic, and scholar, writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently ...

and

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

. The album debuted at number ten on the ''Billboard'' Top Classical Album chart and received two Grammy nominations for

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year – Classical *In 1964 and 1977 it wa ...

and Best Choral Performance.

''A Company of Voices''

Their fourth recording, ''A Company of Voices - Conspirare in Concert'', was released on May 12, 2009 by Harmonia Mundi on both CD (HMU 907534) and DVD. It was recorded live at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, TX in October 2008. Instrumentalists included Bion Tsang (cello) and Thomas Burritt (percussion). The show was recorded by the local

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

station, KLRU for a television special that began airing nationally February/March 2009. The CD received a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album.

''Sudden Light: Christmas at the Carillon''

In 2010 Craig Hella Johnson invited Patrice Pike to join with Conspirare on a live recording with the Company of Voices, featuring Pike on three solo songs: a cover of

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

's " Why", plus original compositions "Volcanoes" and "The Calling".

''Sing Freedom!''

Harmonia Mundi released the group's collection of spirituals, ''Sing Freedom!: African American Spirituals'' on September 13, 2011 (HMU 807525), wherein new arrangements were presented alongside older settings. The CD included the premiere recordings of arrangements by David Lang and

plus original compositions by Robert Kyr and Kirby Shaw. Three settings by Craig Hella Johnson were also included. Recorded October 2010 at Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen, IN.

''Samuel Barber: An American Romantic''

On September 12, 2012 Harmonia Mundi released ''Samuel Barber: An American Romantic'' (HMU 807522), choral music by

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

. The CD featured new chamber versions of ''The Lovers'' and ''Easter Chorale'' written especially for Conspirare by Robert Kyr. Featuring David Farwig, baritone, and Chamber Orchestra. Additional solos by Matt Tresler, Estelí Gomez, and Derek Chester. With Faith Debow, piano, and Thomas Burritt, timpani. Recorded September 2011 at Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College, IN. The recording also included ''

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the "Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and i ...

'', Barber's choral arrangement of his 1936 '' Adagio for Strings''. The album debuted at #10 on the Traditional Classical Album

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

chart on September 29, 2012.

''Sing Joy - Conspirare Christmas 2017''

Released on April 5, 2019, Conspirare release
Sing Joy - Conspirare Christmas 2017
The live album was recorded in December 2017 at the Carillon in Austin, Texas and features 23 stunning Christmas songs. Big Love is the first focus track from Best Choral Performance Grammy Winner (2014) Conspriare's Contemporary Choral release featuring singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez (Americana Chart topper who has performed on Austin City Limits, The Tonight Show, A Prairie Home Companion and has been profiled in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, the Times of London, the New Yorker, the Washington Post). Rodriquez' album 'Lola' was counted among NPR's top 50 Albums of 2016.

References

{{Authority control Choirs in Texas Musical groups from Austin, Texas Musical groups established in 1991 Texas classical music 1991 establishments in Texas