Choir of the Church of the Advent - Of Mere Being (2025) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Rodney Lister’s choral compositions represent a remarkable synthesis of literary sensitivity, harmonic sophistication, and an abiding commitment to vocal expressivity. This recording offers a collection of Lister’s works composed over several decades for the chorus of Greenwood Music Camp, a summer program with which he has been deeply involved as a composer, pianist, and mentor.

The repertoire featured here provides a rare and illuminating perspective on the evolution of his choral writing, spanning from early diatonic and modal explorations to later works of greater harmonic intricacy. Lister’s deep engagement with text is evident throughout this collection. Drawing upon poets such as Wallace Stevens, Gertrude Stein, and others, his settings bring out the rhythm, colour, and nuance of the language in ways that feel both natural and revelatory.

Early works embrace clarity and directness, allowing the shape and syntax of the poetry to guide musical decisions, while later pieces exhibit a denser harmonic language that reflects his affinity for figures like Virgil Thomson and even the chromatic daring of composers such as Gesualdo. Throughout, his choral textures remain vibrant and varied, capable of both luminous transparency and rich complexity. A defining characteristic of Lister’s music is his ability to balance tradition and innovation. He employs familiar harmonic structures yet subtly subverts expectations, allowing triadic formations to shift and realign in ways that create an ever-changing sense of musical space. The result is music that feels both grounded and pleasingly unpredictable, continually engaging the listener in an unfolding dialogue between stability and transformation. His approach to choral writing is informed by his experience as both a composer and pianist, ensuring that every line is singable, every phrase thoughtfully shaped, and every harmonic progression imbued with a keen sense of dramatic pacing.

TRACKLIST

1. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Toward a Supreme Fiction
2. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: A Clear Day and No Memories
3. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: The Snowman
4. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Another Weeping Woman
5. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Of Mere Being
6. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Never Give All the Heart
7. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Vanishing Point
8. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: To the Harbormaster
9. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: A Downward Look
10. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: The Lost Feed
11. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Stanza XV
12. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Stanza XVI
13. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Stanza XXXVIII
14. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: On the Road Home
15. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: To the Republic
16. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Pasture Poem
17. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Measuring Worm
18. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Green trimmed
19. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: To a Waterfowl
20. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: The Bees
21. Choir of the Church of the Advent, Chengcheng Ma & Mark Dwyer - Lister: Our Revels Now Are Ended



Thanks to the Original customer.