Rose Ever Blooming album release

A 55-minute Christmas oratorio featuring SATB choir, violin solo, and orchestra.

VOCES8 Foundation Choir and Orchestra
Barnaby Smith, conductor
Jack Liebeck, violin
Jocelyn Hagen & Timothy C. Takach, composers

Rose Ever Blooming honors the role of Mary in the Christmas story, highlighting the importance of family and the eternally strong bonds between mother and son. The libretto is inspired by Patricia Monaghan’s poetry, featuring twelve poems woven together with traditional Christmas carols as musical touchstones, supporting the themes and narratives in Monaghan’s poetry.

Every divine moment of the Christmas story is presented here with a human counterpart. In Rose Ever Blooming, we see Mary’s story from the onset of motherhood as a metamorphosis from an ordinary girl to one who will “bring forth the future,” and recognizes the divine within all of us. It is refreshing to hear Mary’s story through her eyes, and Monaghan’s brilliant portrayal of her character shines through in these sensitive and poignant poems.

Learn more about the oratorio and its future publication here on Graphite.