O Watch The Stars
Joanne Connolly and the 100-plus members of Con Tutti! are proud to present our first album, “O Watch the Stars”. The album offers a rich mix of music for the winter season from many cultural and musical traditions.
It takes the listener on a musical voyage around the world, featuring traditional songs from Ireland, Scotland, and Norway; a Renaissance French carol; a lyrical frottola from sixteenth century Italy; a lullaby in the Croatian Klapa tradition; a Christmas song from Nigeria; a seasonal celebration from the nomadic Sami people of Finland; and traditional African American spirituals. O Watch the Stars captures the energy and variety of a Con Tutti! concert with soaring full chorus, enchanting small group and inspiring solo performances infused with the soulful rhythm of African drums and bright clarity of the brass ensemble, all of which combine to lift the spirit and balm the soul. “O Watch the Stars” can be purchased at this evening’s concert as well as at these fine Portsmouth retailers: Celtic Crossing, Discover Portsmouth Center, RiverRun Bookstore, Warner’s Card & Gift Shop and the Strawbery Banke Museum Store. We hope you enjoy it!
Keep On Moving Forward
ConTutti! is a community chorus of 100-plus men and women from Portsmouth, New Hampshire and surrounding communities. Founded and directed by Joanne Connolly, ConTutti! sings and celebrates a range of seasonal multicultural music from many traditions. “Keep on Moving Forward”, compiled from live recordings of several ConTutti! concerts from 2001 through 2014, blends traditional music from South Africa, Ghana, Jamaica, Ireland, England and America to celebrate the resilience of the human spirit – to persevere, to overcome, to keep on moving forward. The CD is dedicated to the memory of Bill Traill whose wisdom, enthusiasm and generous spirit were instrumental in its creation.