Where a cappela is most beautiful amarcord travels around the world with the new CD “Folks & Tales

On concert tours in over fifty countries, amarcord has collected the world’s most beautiful folk songs in the course of its twenty years of existence. The twofold ECHO prizewinners have now brought together a selection of these traditional, catchy, stirring, and colorful songs on their latest album “Folks & Tales” (RK ap 10213). The result is a personal journey from Cuba via Ghana, Russia, and Thailand to Japan and Australia. In pop, jazz, and classically influenced arrangements perfectly tailored to the five singers, a longing for distant lands is awakened and, at the same time, traditions and histories of different nations are musically captured – everything presented in the inimitable amarcord fashion: vocal brilliance, homogenous, warm sound, and a healthy portion of charm and humor. As with the very successful CD “Coming Home for Christmas” (RK ap 10111), “Folks & Tales” promises fresh a cappella listening pleasure at its best.

amarcord is especially admired for its versatility. Seemingly effortlessly, the five former members of Leipzig’s St. Thomas Choir move through the vocal music of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Baroque, European Romanticism, and the modern period up to arrangements of folk songs and jazz standards. For the world premiere recording of two Gregorian Masses from the Gradual of Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church (“Zu S. Thomas” RK ap 10112), one of the most important surviving collections of medieval choral music, the ensemble was honored in March 2013with the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) in the “Early Music” category.