The Crossing, Donald Nally - Besieged (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. In a House Besieged: Prologue
02. In a House Besieged: I. A Natural Disaster
03. In a House Besieged: II. Almost No Memory
04. In a House Besieged: III. The Cottages: 2. Lillian
05. In a House Besieged: IV. Order
06. In a House Besieged: V. In a House Besieged
07. In a House Besieged: Epilogue
08. The Woman Where We Are Living: I. Die englischen Stimmen
09. The Woman Where We Are Living: II. The Reactions of the Pupils to Light
10. The Woman Where We Are Living: III. Wie Heißen Sie?
11. The Woman Where We Are Living: IV. When She Was Brought from the Isolation Room (I Will Not Be Cut)
12. The Woman Where We Are Living: V. Wo wohnen Sie?
13. The Woman Where We Are Living: VI. When the Doctor Enters the Room (Make Yourself Comfortable)
14. The Woman Where We Are Living: VII. VI. Welche Frau?
15. The Woman Where We Are Living: VIII. She Acts as If She Were Blind (Myself in Order)
16. The Woman Where We Are Living: IX. When She Died, She Was Examined (Here and Everywhere, Here and Now)
17. Astronomia: I. When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
18. Astronomia: II. The Mississippi at Midnight
19. Astronomia: III. Kosmos

The Crossing and conductor Donald Nally are perhaps best known for the volume and depth of their commissions; they regularly take on challenging topics, as here in their 42nd album, BESIEGED in which they examine time spans — human life, aging, and the mysteries of the cosmos.

BESIEGED unites three contemporary composers whose choices of texts are widely varying: Stacy Garrop sets stories of Lydia Davis in which decay and disintegration are metaphors for old age and isolation. Robert Maggio alternates psychiatrist Dr. Alzheimer’s notes on his first diagnosed patient with her confused, frightening experience. And Christopher Jessup looks skyward, with Whitman, to ponder unanswerable questions about our being in relation to the stars. The Crossing, with its signature expressive precision, brings these works together, balancing sadness and wonder into a coherent journey of clarion sound.

Stacy Garrop composer
Robert Maggio composer
Christopher Jessup composer

The Crossing | Donald Nally conductor
Scott Dettra organ
Elizabeth Steiner harp