Matthew Shepard Archive

CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON: Considering Matthew Shepard – Conspirare – Harmonia mundi

by Audiophile Audition | Oct 11, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Some beautiful choral writing in an emotional tribute. CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON: Considering Matthew Shepard – Conspirare – Harmonia mundi multichannel SACD HMU 807638.39, 105:26, two discs (9/09/16) [Dist. by HM/PIAS] ****: By now, I am sure – or hope – that all readers have at least heard of the horrific 1998 murder of the then twenty-year-old gay college student Matthew Shepard. The fact that he was a young gay man who was hardly what most would consider an “activist” and who essentially executed made his name and his case move to the forefront of the fairly recent gay rights movement. This piece takes, as its emotional base, the relative simplicity of Matthew’s life and the seemingly idyllic setting of Laramie, Wyoming and creates a mood of simple reflection and a certain amount of celebration of Shepard’s existence. This is not a work that goes “over the line” with anger or sadness. The narration – necessarily tough to listen to – comes close but this is one of those stories that, similarly to other landmark human rights cases and crimes over the years, we need to be reminded a bit, actually happened. Craig Hella Johnson is a renowned choral conductor, composer […]