This Flattering Glass

Chanticleer (Contributing Artists)

Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury

Tales, hailed by the New Yorker magazine as “America’s favorite

choral ensemble” and praised by the Los Angeles Times for its

“luxurious perfection,” the GRAMMY® Award-winning vocal ensemble

Chanticleer --based in San Francisco--has developed a remarkable reputation for

its vivid interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz, and from gospel

to venturesome new music. With its seamless blend of twelve male voices, ranging

from countertenor to bass, the ensemble has earned international renown as “an

orchestra of voices.”

We are pleased and honored to be able to include Chanticleer’s music (Ave Maria:

Antiphonus I and Ave Maria Mater Dei, both from the Warner Classics album

Magnificat) in our production of This Flattering Glass.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Contributing Artists)

For more than thirty years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo have married the

intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical

traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The

result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide

audience representing every corner of the religious, cultural and ethnic

landscape. Their musical efforts over the past three decades have garnered praise

and accolades within the recording industry, but also solidified their identity as a

cultural force to be reckoned with. The group will celebrate twelve years of

democracy in the Republic of South Africa with the January 2006 release of Long

Walk to Freedom, a collection of twelve new recordings of classic Mambazo songs

with numerous special guests, including Melissa Etheridge, Emmylou Harris, Taj

Mahal, Joe McBride, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, and Zap Mama. Also

appearing on this monumental recording are a number of South African international

icons lending their support to the South African anthem “Shosholoza,” includin Hugh

Masekela, Vusi Mahlasela, Lucky Dube, Nokukhanya and others.

We are pleased and honored to be able to include Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s

music (Amazing Grace from the album No Boundaries) in our production of This

Flattering Glass.

The Sixteen/Harry Christophers (Contributing Artists)

After twenty-seven years of world-wide performance, The Sixteen is

recognised as one of the world’s greatest vocal ensembles with a

special reputation for clarity and beauty with precision and dramatic

intensity. Repertoire includes early European polyphony,

masterpieces of the Renaissance and Baroque, and the choral

highlights of the twentieth century, reflecting the passions of conductor and founder,

Harry Christophers. A jewel in The Sixteen’s crown is its own record label, CORO,

which offers new recordings each year and is re-issuing the former Collins catalogue.

To date The Sixteen and The Symphony of Harmony and Invention have made over

ninety recordings, winning many awards including Grand Prix du Disque for

Handel's Messiah, numerous Schallplattenkritik, the coveted Gramophone Award for

Early Music, and most recently the prestigious Classical Brit Award 2005 for

'Renaissance', in a range of work spanning the music of six hundred years.

We are pleased and honored to be able to include The Sixteen’s music (Barber

Agnus Dei from the CORO release An American Collection) in our production of This

Flattering Glass.

Joni Mitchell (Contributing Artist)

A singer, composer and lyricist of exceptional talent and unmatched

influence, Joni Mitchell has crafted an extraordinary body of work

spanning more than 40 years and is widely regarded as one of the

brightest musical lights of recent generations. Fans, fellow musicians and

critics have delighted in an ever-evolving creative journey, with songs

both universal and profoundly personal. Her music has become a

standard to which others are compared and which many aspire to copy, but its

inventiveness and ineffable spirit make it decidedly her own.

We are pleased and honored to be able to include Joni Mitchell’s music (I Had A

King published by Crazy Crow Music, administered by Sony/ATV Music) in our

production of This Flattering Glass.