Songs of Comfort & Hope: Vinyl LP

180 gram audiophile vinylGatefold sleeve with deluxe soft-touch laminate finishPVC protective sleeveBrand new 2021 albumInspired by the series of recorded-at-home musical offerings that Yo-Yo Ma began sharing in the first days of the COVID-19 lockdownFeaturing new takes on old favorites; Shenandoah, Fantasia on Waltzing Matilda, Scarborough Fair, We’ll Meet Again, Gracias a la Vida and many moreSongs of Comfort & Hope is inspired by the series of recorded-at-home musical offerings that Yo-Yo Ma began sharing in the first days of the COVID-19 lockdown in the United States. Throughout the spring and summer, Ma’s #SongsofComfort grew from a self-shot video of Antonn Dvok’s Goin’ Home into a worldwide effort that has reached more than 20 million people.Ma and longtime collaborator Kathryn Stott mark the next chapter in the project with this brand new album, offering consolation and connection in the face of fear and isolation. The album includes 21 new recordings, which span modern arrangements of traditional folk tunes, canonical pop songs, jazz standards, and mainstays from the western classical repertoire. Among the new takes on old favorites are Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw’s artful and eloquently arranged Shenandoah; Australian composer Harry Sdraulig’s Fantasia on Waltzing Matilda; pianist Stephen Hough’s lush arrangement of Scarborough Fair, and two-time Academy Award-nominated icon Jorge Calandrelli’s re-imagining of a pair of songbook treasures: We’ll Meet Again by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, and Violeta Parra’s Gracias a la Vida.Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott share the warmth of decades of music making again with Songs of Comfort & Hope, offering audiences new paths into treasured musical memories and a few notes of hope for a better future.