A Native Hill
Navona, 2021
9/10
The Philadelphia professional chamber choir The Crossing are aligned with Gavin Bryars here, where each individual voice among the ensemble is illuminated as they tip their hat to the American author and environmentalist Wendell Berry, and his 1968 essay, A Native Hill.
“The Sense Of The Past” starts the listen with soaring vocals in a very soothing, spiritual climate, and this approach continues to the swift and elegant “The Path”, as well as the baritone versus soprano contrast of the absorbing “Sea Level”.
The middle tracks bring us reflective, emotive harmonizing of “The Road”, while the dreamy “The Music Of Streams” is an album stand out in its precise and varied delivery that has the listener hanging on every note.
Near to the end, “Animals And Birds” emits much beauty in both minimal moments as well as vocally strong flashes, and “At Peace” exits the listen radiating a mesmerizing timelessness that has been present on everything The Crossing have been a part of.
As always, it’s a vocally intricate and fascinating experience listening to The Crossing, and together with Bryars they balance sparse ebbs with busier textures, essentially showcasing the depth of their inestimable talent. It’s really no surprise that they’ve picked up multiple Grammy Awards already, and it’s pretty likely that more are on the horizon, too.
Travels well with: Ilja Hurník- Gratias; Various Artists- Fleeting Realms: Chamber Works, Vol. 2