Bryars & Pitts: Burden of Truth

The première recordings of Gavin Bryars’s 32-part choral arrangement of his epochal minimalist work, Jesus’ blood never failed me yet, inspired by the singing of a homeless person on the streets of London, and an extended extrapolation in 25 parts of Robert Wylkynson’s 13-part canon from the Eton Choirbook, Jesus autem transiens, composed by Antony Pitts on a road trip into the heart of Australia. The Song Company and collaborating ensembles recorded this moving programme during lockdown in bedrooms and kitchens across Australia.

This album is also available on vinyl. Click here for more information: 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Gatefold 12" Transparent Red Vinyl.

1EMBOT 48 minutes 48 seconds

‘Bryars’s piece grows from acoustic out-takes of a 1971 documentary on homeless people in London. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the piece is a bespoke setting, reflecting a lengthy collaboration b ...
‘[Jesus' blood] captures a purely private moment of spontaneous un-self-conscious music making—untrained yet true—and the setting here against trained singers created a carefully moulded background of ...
‘Transiens is a monumental new work, profoundly influenced by Renaissance sacred choral music in general and, of course, by Robert Wylkynson’s canonic treatment of Jesus autem transiens in particular ...