Recently named Musical America’s 2024 Ensemble of the Year, Donald Nally’s chamber choir The Crossing release their latest studio album, Ways You Went...

Ways You Went features two works (9 tracks - 1 hr, 49 sec) of original compositions by composers Martin Bresnick and Mason Bates. It represents a yin and yang of interconnected opposites. Bresnick’s song cycle 'Self-Portraits 1964' deals with the life and personality of a single man: young and intellectual, working as a trash collector to put himself through college, and escaping into literature at night.

Bates’ trilogy 'Mass Transmission' takes a telegraph conversation between mother and daughter in the 1920s and sets it to music, contrasting the warmth of human communication and a mechanistic medium. Both of these cycles, one introspective, the other socially oriented, are snapshots of a time gone by.

As always, The Crossing push all boundaries to deliver deeply rich performances. It's a gut-wrenchingly emotive collection, which compels repeat listens in order to scratch the surface of the nuanced performances.

The two works couldn't be further apart stylistically, yet they both have many common elements. Most notably, 'Self-Portraits 1964' is more traditional, whereas 'Mass Transmission' is more ethereal and subtly introduces electronic sounds to give a futuristic/technical feel.

Both works are mini masterpieces which will find pride of place in any choral lover's music library.

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Darren Rea