The remarkable women of The Crossing offer a recording that is as virtuosic as it is emotional, resonating with recurring themes of desire and strength, peace, and longing. The ensemble’s affinity for the unique compositional style of Pulitzer Laureate David Lang is heard in his provocative and humorous “this condition”(2005), his wrenching “I live in pain” (written for the ensemble in 2010) and the title track, the driven, moving “I want to live”(2004).

Lang’s musical vocabulary is echoed in Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s ultra-minimal, brilliant “Statements”(1970, as modern and relevant today as when composed), and contrasted in the richly textured, Tibetan-inspired works of Paul Fowler; his “Echoes” (2010) was written for the ensemble.  

Finally, William Brooks’ “Six Mediaeval Lyrics” (2006)—written for Trio Mediaeval and expanded in scope and texture for The Crossing—anchors the recording with its broad landscape and dazzling diversity, with sounds that punch the air, collapse in on themselves, and hover listlessly in daydreaming musings. This is an hour of some of today’s finest choral writing for women’s ensemble and a must-have for followers of these composers.