Windborne – Bringing Old Songs into Present Vocal Harmony | Midwinter Celebration | Godfrey’s Debut!

Name: Windborne – Bringing Old Songs into Present Vocal Harmony | Midwinter Celebration | Godfrey’s Debut!
Start: 2024-12-05T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2024-12-05T21:00:00-05:00
Location: Godfrey Daniels

Schedule

Thu Dec 05 2024 at 07:00 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Godfrey Daniels | Bethlehem, PA

SPONSORED BY WDIY 88.1 FM
Hailed as “the most exciting vocal group in a generation,” Windborne brings a fresh perspective to the rich traditions of vocal harmony. With deep roots in polyphonic music from around the world, their bold and innovative arrangements breathe new life into centuries-old songs, making them resonate in modern times. The ensemble—Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan—seamlessly shifts between musical styles, taking audiences on a journey that spans continents and eras. Known for their captivating harmonies and social consciousness, Windborne’s performances are a masterful blend of technical prowess, passion, and connection. Their viral success on TikTok, and a newly set record with the #1 Album (“To Warm The Winter Hearth”) ever fundraised for on Backerkit, has introduced younger audiences to unlikely genres like Corsican polyphony and early labor anthems, further solidifying their reputation as groundbreaking vocalists who defy expectations.
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Windborne
windbornesingers.com
Windborne’s captivating show draws on the singers’ deep roots in traditions of vocal harmony, while the absolute uniqueness of their artistic approach brings old songs into the present. Known for the innovation of their arrangements, their harmonies are bold and anything but predictable.
With a 20-year background studying polyphonic music around the world, Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan share a vibrant energy onstage with a blending of voices that can only come from decades of friendship alongside dedicated practice. The ensemble shifts effortlessly between drastically different styles of music, drawing their audience along on a journey that spans continents and centuries, illuminating and expanding on the profound power and variation of the human voice. The singers educate as they entertain, sharing stories about their songs and explaining the context and characteristics of the styles in which they sing.
BBC Traveling Folk describes Windborne as “subverting expectations and redefining the genre… just absolutely phenomenal!” Audiences and critics lavish praise upon the singers not only for their technical mastery, but for the passion, engagement, and connection with each other and the audience that imbues each performance with a rare power.
But there’s another, crucial dimension to Windborne that guides and roots their artistry. They are adherents to folk music’s longtime alliance with social activism, labor and civil rights, and other movements that champion the oppressed, the poor, and the disenfranchised. Their latest project, Of Hard Times & Harmony, explores themes of social consciousness, singing in four languages and showcasing the depth of emotion their voices can evoke, as well as moments of true hilarity and wit
The group is committed to bringing vocal traditions to a younger audience and over the past year has found surprisingly viral success on TikTok for such unlikely genres as Corsican polyphony or early 20th century labor anthems.
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New Album and Book!
To Warm the Winter Hearth: Songs of Midwinter
In our households growing up, putting on the “holiday music” didn’t mean listening to Silver Bells or Frosty the Snowman, but instead meant albums and singing parties filled with wassails, songs of the winter solstice, old English carols, and other music you’d never hear at the mall. The focus of the holiday season was connecting to community and tradition, so the repertoire went far beyond songs and stories of the typical Christmas characters. Music came from a variety of midwinter traditions like European house-to-house visiting customs and singing back the sun on Solstice morning as we celebrated the turning of the year.
We like to say that Windborne either introduces audiences to traditions they have never heard, or takes familiar songs and makes them new and fresh. This long-awaited winter album from Windborne features audience favorites like the classic Boar’s Head Carol, draws inspirations from groups such as the Watersons and Nowell Sing We Clear, and introduces some of our favorite unusual finds, including a medley of 16th century carols in the Occitan language and a rousing Lithuanian wassail.
All these arrangements feature our signature four part vocal harmony, and we are also joined on some songs by guitar, banjo, the traditional lithuanian instrument called a kankles, and guest instrumentalists Yann Falquet on accordion and Katie McNally on fiddle.
If you’re already a Windborne fan, you might have guessed that this album will come packaged inside a book! The book features stunning full color artwork, with lush watercolor illustrations, lyrics, and essays about the songs and the traditions they come from.
People have been singing these songs to celebrate at midwinter for generations–we are honored to be a part of that continued legacy, and we hope that this album becomes part of your winter holiday celebrations!