Don't Break The Circle CD

Don't Break the Circle - Bach / Balfour presents a musical encounter between the Baroque legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Indigenous spiritual traditions carried forward by Canadian composer Andrew Balfour, who is of Cree descent.Performed by the Ensemble Caprice and the Ensemble ArtChoral, under the direction of Matthias Maute, the album creates a dialogue between Bach's Missa brevis in A major, BWV 234, and five works by Balfour, including Round Dance: Don't Break the Circle, created in collaboration with Maute. Through songs in Indigenous languages, choral polyphony, and sounds inspired by nature, the program explores themes of transmission, identity, spirituality, and community.Blending early music with contemporary composition, *Don't Break the Circle* celebrates the richness of two distinct musical worlds, united by a shared purpose: to bring traditions to life and reinvent them while preserving their uniqueness.