Composer Dan Locklair’s newest album is titled Sing to the World. This is the second recording of Locklair’s music that I have reviewed for this magazine; From East to West and Other Choral Works received an extremely favorable review in the December 2024 TAO. While the former recording featured the Choir of Royal Holloway conducted by Rupert Gough, here Locklair enlists the Phoenix Consort conducted by Adam Whitmore and accompanied by pianist Iain Farrington.

Sing to the World gathers secular compositions by Locklair from the past four decades. The title of the album comes from the first work on the recording, which the composer subtitles “A Celebration of Music for SATB Chorus, divisi, a cappella.” Commissioned by Cathy Youngblood and the Caritas a Cappella Ensemble in Charlotte, N.C., Sing to the World sets poems by Walt Whitman, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Phillis Wheatley, Henry van Dyke, and Tomás de lriarte. The Phoenix Consort’s performance of the cycle is committed and expressive.

The next two tracks on the CD are two Robert Frost settings: “For This Is Love” (for SATB chorus and piano) and “Bond and Free” (for SATB chorus, divisi, a cappella). The latter piece especially represents some of the Phoenix Chorale’s best singing on the album. More Whitman settings follow in the three-Part The Lilacs Bloomed for SATB chorus, with a virtuosic piano part magnificently played by Farrington.

Three standalone pieces follow, with texts by various poets: “For Amber Waves” (Katharine Lee Bates), “Tapestries” (Rabindranath Tagore), and “The Cloths of Heaven’ (William Butler Yeats). “For Amber Waves” scored for five SATB choirs and composed in 1992 for Philip Brunelle and the Plymouth Music Series in Minneapolis, is the most interesting of this grouping; the Phoenix Consort (only 25 voices in number) renders an impressively balanced performance.

The final six tracks consist of changing perceptions, a five-movement work for SATB chorus and piano, and EPITAPH, a sixth movement labeled separately but intended to be performed as the conclusion of the cycle. These six settings are by five poets: Christine Teale Howes, Joy Kogawa, John Gillespie Magee Jr, an anonymous poet, and Carol Adler (who contributes two poems). Here Locklair composes a unified grouping in a cohesive style not heard elsewhere on the album: generally more heavy and anguished in tone, but also subtly playful at times. Composed in 1987, it is the earliest work on this disc and does not appear to have been previously recorded.

Sing to the World is a rich collection of Locklair’s secular choral works. Whitmore and the Phoenix Consort turn in expressive and meticulously prepared performances, and Farrington is a superb pianist. The choir is heard to best advantage on the accompanied works, as excessive vibrato at times slightly compromises the intonation of the a cappella compositions. (This is most apparent in the first give tracks; unaccompanied singing elsewhere, however – such as the opening moments of “Bond and Free” – is exquisite.)

Locklair is a gifted and prolific composer, worthy of his many accolades, and this album offers a generous sampling of his secular works. Sing to the World will provide enjoyable repeated listenings and is highly recommended.