Twelve voices unite in the round to create limitless harmony
VOCES8 and Ringmasters come together for a landmark new recording, ‘Shall We Gather’, to be released on 24 July 2026 on VOCES8 Records / Decca Classics.
The album features repertoire spanning sacred music, Nordic folk, close-harmony classics, and contemporary works, including Eric Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque, conducted by the composer himself. Blake Morgan’s composing and arranging is featured too.
See the video of Lux Aurumque
Tracklisting:
Shall We Gather at the River – Robert Lowry, arr. Blake Morgan
Come, Let Us Worship – Sergei Rachmaninov
Lux Aurumque – Eric Whitacre
Deus, Deus Meus – Giovanni Gabrieli
Ave Maria – Franz Biebl
Det är en ros utsprungen – Michael Praetorius, arr. Jan Sandström
Moonrise – Blake Morgan
In Memoriam (Ring Out Wild Bells) – Rasmus Krigström
Pseudo Yoik – Jaakko Mäntyjärvi
Loch Lomond (A Folk Fantasia) – Blake Morgan
The Fool on the Hill – Lennon & McCartney, arr. Gene Puerling
I’ll Be There – The Jackson 5, arr. Blake Morgan
The Bells of Notre Dame & Out There – Alan Menken, arr. Aaron Dale & Rasmus Krigström
‘Shall We Gather’ unites VOCES8 and Ringmasters in an extraordinary twelve-voice collaboration, blending the warmth and precision of the choral tradition with the brilliance and immediacy of barbershop harmony. Recorded and filmed as an acoustic studio project, the album features new commissions, bespoke arrangements and signature repertoire spanning sacred music, Nordic folk, contemporary works and close-harmony.
At its heart lies a simple but powerful curiosity about what happens when two distinct vocal traditions truly collaborate. VOCES8’s approach prioritises blend, sustained line and large-scale musical architecture, whilst Ringmasters bring the tightly tuned vertical harmony and overtone ‘ring’ of barbershop. Together, they create a twelve-voice instrument of remarkable flexibility, at one moment weightless and transparent, the next thrillingly direct.
The programme moves across centuries and styles, with Blake Morgan’s arrangement of Shall We Gather at the River setting the tone, beginning in unison simplicity before unfolding into rich, ringing harmony. Its closing tag offers a first glimpse of the radiant colours that define the album. From there, the sound deepens in Sergei Rachmaninov’s Come, Let Us Worship, before seeming almost to suspend time in Eric Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque, conducted by the composer himself. Giovanni Gabrieli’s Deus, Deus Meus follows, before Franz Biebl’s iconic Ave Maria, newly realised here in an expanded twelve-part version.
From this sacred foundation, the album turns northwards, drawing on Ringmasters’ Scandinavian roots. Det är en ros utsprungen, based on the chorale by Michael Praetorius and arranged by Jan Sandström, suspends its melody over slowly shifting harmonies, creating a texture of quiet luminosity. Contemporary works by members of the ensembles further expand the palette: a new composition, Moonrise, by VOCES8’s Blake Morgan unfolds, while Ringmasters’ Rasmus Krigström brings striking weight and breadth in In Memoriam, with sonorous, organ-like textures that allow the twelve voices to fully bloom.
A change of pace comes with Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s Pseudo-Yoik, whose rhythmic vitality and percussive articulation draw on Sámi vocal traditions, demanding agility and precision from every singer. The traditional Scottish song Loch Lomond is reimagined by Blake Morgan as a folk fantasia, weaving new material around the melody in the spirit of Ralph Vaughan Williams, expanding an intimate narrative into something broader and more atmospheric.
Gene Puerling’s intricate setting of The Fool on the Hill, originally conceived for the multitracked sound of The Singers Unlimited, is re-scored here by Blake Morgan for twelve voices. We hear the familiar Jackson 5 classic I’ll Be There unfold with warmth and lyricism, in an arrangement by Blake Morgan where barbershop brightness and choral blend meet in a sound that feels both intimate and expansive.
The album culminates in The Bells of Notre Dame, long a signature piece for Ringmasters and reimagined here for the full combined ensemble in an arrangement by Aaron Dale with expanded scoring by Rasmus Krigström. From hushed, chant-like passages to ringing, full-voiced climaxes, the twelve voices are pushed to their limits, bringing the programme to an exhilarating and virtuosic close.
Bespoke arrangements, new commissions and signature repertoire combine to showcase the full expressive and sonic range of the twelve voices, revealing colours and overtones neither ensemble could achieve alone.
Named after the traditional hymn Shall We Gather at the River, the album reflects a deeper idea of collaboration and togetherness. One that is fundamental to the values of both VOCES8 and the wider VOCES8 Foundation. It is a celebration of collective musicianship, and the mission to create something greater than the sum of their parts.
Concerti Magazine, reviewing the album, wrote:
The collaboration between the two ensembles proves remarkably fruitful, as the male voices add extra depth and richness to the clarity of VOCES8.
Excellent vocal artistry that creates goosebump moments in all styles of the album.