VA - The Four Quarters of Jerusalem (2020)

When Kent Tritle and Nina Stern first devised this recording project of music from the Four Quarters of the Old City their aim was to create a soundscape that reflected Jerusalem's reality as well as it's role in the dreams and ideals of the great Abrahamic religions. Our program offers music one might hear in walking through Jerusalem today, but it also interposes visionary works from other times and places. Both remind us of what Jerusalem has meant to generation after generation of believers. Some gritty historical truths reveal themselves at once, while others may be glimpsed as through a haze of memory and desire. The Choir of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Kent Tritle, director, and the ensemble Rose of the Compass, Nina Stern, director, combine musical talents to present a program that speaks of common ground and unity among the various faiths found in the four quarters of the city of Jerusalem. This album is modeled after a concert performance given by the ensembles at the New York City Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 2015.