New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Composer
Sarah Kirkland Snider has released 'Kyrie,' the opening movement on her upcoming album, Mass for the Endangered, due
September 25 on New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records, along with a video for the same by visual artist CandyStations, aka Deborah Johnson, which you can watch below. The 'Kyrie' video features original artwork and hand-drawn animations by
Nathaniel Bellows, who also created the libretto for Mass for the Endangered and its cover art. This follows the release of 'Sanctus/Benedictus' from the album and video for that by Johnson, who will be making a video for each of the six tracks on the album.
Mass for the Endangered is a celebration of, and an elegy for, the natural world—animals, plants, insects, the planet itself—an appeal for greater awareness, urgency, and action. Originally commissioned by
Trinity Church Wall Street, the recording features the English vocal ensemble Gallicantus conducted by Gabriel Crouch. You can pre-order the album here.
Deborah Johnson, who has previously worked with artists like Sufjan Stevens, eighth blackbird, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, Bang On A Can, and Wilco, presents a unified and distinctive vision to accompany the music of Snider's Mass: the full six videos are viewed as a 'Cathedral of the Cosmos,' honoring and receiving the animal and plant species that no longer find life on Earth sustainable. The videos draw from architectural elements of cathedrals, and grow in complexity with each video.
"One of my favorite aspects of this collaboration has been learning about Deborah's creative process and getting to peek behind-the-scenes at how she makes her art. I was really struck by the thoughtfulness and sensitivity with which her animations inhabit the architecture and pacing of the score," Snider writes in an essay on working with Johnson. "Working with Deborah on Mass for the Endangered has been one of the more satisfying and enriching collaborations I've experienced. I love that I don't know what's next to come in this poetic, layered, phantasmagorical story she's creating, and I can't wait to see how it expands and deepens my understanding of the music."
