Musarc and Jack Sheen Present: Croon Harvest

Recorded in Resonance Extra's studios on 30th April 2022, Croon Harvest is a constellation of four experimental choral works curated by Jack Sheen for Musarc.

The compilation brings together new and recent projects by composers Olivia Block (US), Cassandra Miller (CA/UK) and Andrew Hamilton (IE/UK), with Sheen’s eponymous Croon Harvest (2021–ongoing) as a central starting point.

The programme explores music in a situated and embodied state, floating on noise and quiet sounds, peeling off from the brink of silence towards a good old sing-along. In each work, the voice occupies a different space in relation to other sounds, the body, technology, or notions of memory and tradition.

The project is part of Musarc’s work with contemporary composers and the ensemble’s commitment to new music – brittle and radical, in need of projection as well as protection and advocacy. The choir was joined by musicians from the Royal College of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance.

Instrumentalists: Cara Houghton (flute), Rowan Jones (clarinet), Michelle Hromin (bass clarinet), Andrew Hamilton (viola), Andrew Liddell (viola), Rebecca Burden (cello), Steve Potter (piano).

Sound engineering and mastering by Julian Sander.