Listen to Andrew Lipke collaborate with Choral Arts Philadelphia on “Hosanna”

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Andrew Lipke is an artist with one foot planted firmly in rock and roll roots and the other striding for loftier heights. Going back to his cello-centered rock outfit The Prospects and carrying across his collaborations with The Azrael Quartet and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, he’s always been fond of bringing a touch of “serious music” to the pop scene – as well as a bit of non-traditional fun to the conservatory world.

The latest example of Lipke balancing these styles comes in his work with Choral Arts Philadelphia, who he teamed up with to re-imagine his 2011 album The Plague – a thematic song cycle rooted in twentieth-century hysteria around the lore of The Rapture. With the Choral Arts, The Plague is presented as an oratorio; and for those of us who haven’t studied art music at this level, that’s a composition that combines orchestral and choral elements. The CAP show, premiered on May 4th at CAP’s Bach@7 Cantata Series, combines a Baroque orchestra (The Philadelphia Back Collegium) and and CAP, with Lipke acting as the soloist.

Listen to a recording of “Hosanna” from The Plague with Lipke and CAP below. Lipke and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia perform live at World Cafe Live tomorrow night – Wednesday, May 11th. Tickets and more information on the show can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar.

https://soundcloud.com/choral-arts-philadelphia-77404973/andrew-lipke-the-plague-an-oratorio-for-choir-soloist-and-strings-hosanna