Sea Dreams Luminous Voices

• Peter-Anthony Togni (b. 1959):
• 1 Totus Tuus 02:29
• 2 Requiem et Lux 07:15
• Sea Dreams:
• 3 Sea Dreams: I. Pray for Those Who Are in Ships 11:47
• 4 Sea Dreams: II. Alma Redeptoris 05:10
• 5 Sea Dreams: III. Perpetual Angelus 04:08
• Peter-Anthony Togni:
• 6 Earth Voices 05:23
• 7 Da Pacem Domine 05:06
• 8 Of the Father's Love Begotten 03:08
• 9 Psaume 98 02:59
• 10 Responsio Introit 06:51
• 11 Silentio 07:26
• Total Runtime 01:01:42

Info for Sea Dreams

Luminous Voices, based in Calgary, Alberta, releases Sea Dreams – their third full-length album under the artistic direction of Timothy Shantz. Recorded at the Bell Concert Hall at Mount Royal University, Sea Dreams was composed by Peter-Anthony Togni and features guest artists: Jeff Reilly, bass clarinet/ Katie Partridge, soprano / Oliver Munar, tenor / Sarah Hahn-Scinocco & Sarah MacDonald, flute.

Sea Dreams reflects the relationship between the ocean and the sea as a life metaphor, with its implicit suggestion of journeying, inward emotions and ever uncertainties. A continuation of Togni’s recent works, in which choral writing is blended seamlessly with unusual accompanying instrumental support. The framing movements of the work draw on texts from T.S. Elliot’s Four Quartets, with the middle movement employing the words of the Marian hymn “Alma Redemptoris Mater”.

"Sea Dreams is a work that reflects my relationship to the ocean and my thoughts about a journey of faith, a journey full of questions, fears, longings, hopes, dreams, and the gifts of disappointment. One has to be open; in the words of the Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, to be open means 'giving up your demand .... learning to trust in the fact that you do not need to secure your ground, learning to trust is your fundamental richness.'

Much of my inspiration comes from T.S. Eliot's 'The Dry Salvages' from The Four Quartets. The central image is water and sea. Eliot suggests that if we just accept the idea of drifting on the ocean, we will end up broken upon the rocks. The water becomes a metaphor for life and how humans behave. One has to trust that the buoy or bell that seems to ring in the distance can often be closer than we think. The prayer to the Virgin Mary in the poem is there to help guide the metaphorical sailors to their harbours of safety.

I scored Sea Dreams for two mixed choirs and two flutes. Each choir represents a ship on the water; they pass in the night but are deeply connected because they are on the same sea, both looking to the stars, a beacon of light, or a bell for direction and safety. Each ship has a seagull following it; these gulls represent the passage of time, angels, flowing thoughts, emptiness, ghosts, hope, and the Holy Spirit.

There are times in the piece where there is a letting go, the music behind the music, whispered sounds, and chords that almost melt into themselves. One ceases to hear the text, almost sound for the sake of sound, a dream-like state that reminds us we can live with the sea but will never master it. Getting into a boat or on a ship is a kind of leap of faith: we can only pray and trust that the journey will be successful." (Peter-Anthony Togni)

Luminous Voices
Timothy Shantz, conductor

Timothy Shantz
As Founding Director of Luminous Voices, as well as Chorus Master for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Artistic Director of the award-winning Spiritus Chamber Choir, the choirs of Dr. Timothy Shantz are recognized for their warmth and clarity of sound, and have garnered critical praise.

Shantz has a wealth of international experience as a conductor, collaborator, and tenor soloist. As conductor, Shantz is recognized for his work in early music, contemporary works, as well as virtuoso unaccompanied choral music, to large choral-orchestral masterpieces. Under his direction, Spiritus Chamber Choir earned the Healey Willan Grand Prize from the Canada Council in both 2017 and 2013, and earned 2nd prize at both the Fleischmann International Choral Competition in Cork, Ireland and the Florilege Vocal de Tours in France. He has also been guest conductor of the Kölner Vokalsolisten, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, and the National Youth Choir of Canada.

Highlights include MacMillan's Seven Last Words from the Cross, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem. He has prepared many choruses for the concert and stage, in collaboration with conductors Christoph Koenig, Joseph Flummerfelt, Paul Hillier, Roberto Minczuk, Grzegorz Nowak, John Morris Russell, Ivars Taurins, Yoav Talmi, Matthew Halls and Jean-Marie Zeitouni.

Peter-Anthony Togni
is an award-winning composer, pianist, organist, conductor and former CBC broadcaster. He has toured internationally, performs currently as part of Blackwood, and his recordings are broadcast worldwide. Togni's Responsio, performed by Luminous Voices in May 2016, won the 2014 Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award. In 2016, Peter's opera Isis and Osiris premiered to critical acclaim in Toronto. Togni teaches at Acadia University and is the organist and choir master of the Principle Choir at St Benedict Parish in Halifax.

Booklet for Sea Dreams