Recordings
If you would like to purchase one of our recordings, please email animaterrawomenschorus@gmail.com
Our latest CD, “As Long As There’s Singing There’s Hope”, is a compilation of the best performances from our concerts over the past several years.
Here is what our former audio engineer, Eric Blackmer, had to say in our liner notes:
“…is a collection of live performances garnered from across six years of Animaterra concerts. The album begins, as do most Animaterra concerts, with a processional. Listen! Hear the women rowing nearer in Ise Oluwa until they are assemble on the risers. After a welcoming introduction the show usually starts off slow and stately, as with Ela La Ma. Where they will they go from there, only Animaterra knows.
Animaterra’s head and heart is Allison Aldrich Smith.* Officially, she is the music director but that doesn’t begin to describe her role. For Allison music is life and life is music. Her magic is that she teaches, enables and inspires ordinary people to deliver performances that are clearly above and beyond. Allison conducts and draws the choir and the audience to create transcendent musical events.
Animaterra concerts are unique journeys. These singers soar in various directions- and their range is wide. They are likely to burst into a musical tour de force like Away Ye Merry Lassies, or shake your reality with 1000 Grandmothers, then touch the sublime with the Blue Green Hills of Earth, or bop you with reality, like Cindy Kallet’s song I’m a Mammal, or captivate you with a very powerful rendition of Huddie Ledbetter’s Bring Me Little Water Silvie. Baba Yetu, sung in Swahili, is unforgettable and brought down the house with a rousing standing ovation.
Animaterra will make you laugh and sing, and bring tears to your eyes. This unique women’s chorus will broaden your horizons with music from many and diverse world musical traditions. They will also entertain you with familiar songs. After you have been thrilled and awed, the choir will recess, singing, dancing, marching down the aisles, embracing, enthralling and celebrating the female spirit of the world. In the aftermath of an Animaterra concert there remains an aura of exquisite transcendent euphoria.
This is what we have tried to bring to you in this CD. May you enjoy it over and over. Sing along! Show your friends! Request Animaterra on your favorite radio station. Go tell it on the mountain! Let the good times roll! And remember:
As long as there’s singing there’s hope!”
The CD is available at our concerts and events, and from CD Baby:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/animaterrawomenschorus1
*NB: Allison Aldrich Smith is the founder and now Director Emerita of Animaterra Women’s Chorus.
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This is a compilation of concert recordings of our early years. Included are many of our favorites spanning the planet. Vibrant voices, stunning percussion, and the joy of our connection with the audience shines through the music.
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Animaterra: Pax in Terra/Peace on Earth
This is our more “contemplative” recording, featuring songs that shine light into the darkest time of the year. Songs of winter, of Chanukah and Christmas, and especially songs celebrating peace and the human spirit across the globe are featured.