“LUMINA”: Westminster Kantorei’s new recording was released on the Westminster Choir College label on September 15. Recorded in the Princeton University Chapel and conducted by Amanda Quist, it features music from the Baroque and Renaissance periods that focus on the presence of light in our lives. “Lumina” is available from Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, and other major download and streaming sites.

Westminster Choir College has released Lumina, a new recording by Westminster Kantorei, conducted by Amanda Quist. 

“The Latin word lumina means to illuminate, shine, brighten, or reveal,” says Dr. Quist. “Each of the works on this recording speaks to the presence of light throughout our life journey: from birth to death, through love, disappointment, forgiveness, and transcendence. These pieces are drawn primarily from Renaissance and Baroque composers of England and Germany, with the inclusion of two special 19th-century works by composers who were deeply inspired by the ideas and musical styles of these earlier time periods.”

Recorded in the Princeton University Chapel, Lumina’s repertoire spans the mystical 12th-century chant of Hildegard von Bingen through J.S. Bach, Henry Purcell and Thomas Tallis, through Felix Mendelssohn and Josef Rheinberger.

Lumina is the debut solo recording by Westminster Kantorei, an ensemble dedicated to the study and performance of early music.

Conductor Amanda Quist is chair of the conducting, organ and sacred music department at Westminster Choir College. She served as chorus master for the premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s opera Matsukaze at the Spoleto Festival USA and the Lincoln Center Festival. The New York Times and Charleston City Paper praised the chorus’s performance as “beautifully prepared, gripping,” a “gossamer web of voices” and “bridging the vocal and instrumental textures with perfect intonation.”

Lumina is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Spotify, as well as other major recordings sites.

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