When Choir of the Earth (then The Self-Isolation choir) first formed during the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of voices from around the world came together to learn and record Quanta Qualia.
The music and especially the text by my brother Andrew Hawes, were all the more poignant at that time:
“O anima mea, mane! O quanta qualia conventus gaudia erunt.”
(O my soul, wait! O how great and how wonderful the joys of meeting will be)
Their first recording, alongside saxophonist Sophie Burrows, touched hearts far beyond the Choir and was even selected by Dame Louise Casey when she appeared on BBC Radio 4’s famous Desert Island Discs programme.
The piece soon became the Choir’s anthem and, as their choral family grew, they were asked to reopen recordings. Quanta Qualia 2 premiered in November 2021, with original voices, new voices and a new cello solo from renowned cellist Jiaxin Lloyd Webber.
When they held their first Hall of Fame vote in 2023, Quanta Qualia topped the chart. It retained the Number 1 spot in 2024 and now, due to popular demand, they reopened submissions to record it for a third time!
The resulting online performance saw the inclusion of thousands more voice submissions and, featuring Laura Peribañez Artero’s beautiful new cello solo, it really is beautiful.
And the behind-the-scenes video is great too, giving a glimpse of the wonderful people who make these things happen.
More info can be found on the Choir of the Earth website >
