Sound of Ages Podcast

Andrew Maxfield's masterful tribute to The Bard stands as a masterclass in musical humor, storytelling, and artistry. Take a listen to Kam & Drew discuss elements of the piece and performance that help the punch lines land. The two track Single featuring Poor Richard's Madrigal and All's Well that Ends...Well will be released on all streaming platforms Friday, July 10, 2026. Pre-Save the album...

I might be easy to spot the story in music that has text, but the music itself can tell a story. The timeless elements of storytelling can be found in and amongst the notes themselves. Andrew's Poor Richard's Madrigal is a prime example of great musical storytelling on both counts. Sign up for our email list to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases, concerts, and other events!

Join us for the final episode of the Wind, Water, Stone : Deep Dives . If Ye Love Me Reimagined is the result of Kam and Drew's collaborations dealing with reimagining old works. Andrew takes us through the concept of a "palimpsest" in historical preservation and how he aimed for a similar effect, with glimpses of the original Tallis piece peaking through the surface that is Andrew's texture and s...

What is harmony? How is it formed? How does it function? Harmony can be explained very simply to a novice musician and also contains great depths that leave even the most seasoned professional wondering if they know "how to music at all." Day Is Done , the second to last track on Sound of Ages' most recent album Wind, Water, Stone explores various harmonic colors and functions. A baseline discussi...

Kam & Drew take a deep dive into elements that make up musical texture , how they can be used to create motion, how rhythm plays a part, etc. Drew's setting of Loveliest of Trees employs various rhythmic and textural elements to take the listener on a contemplative journey through the seasons. soundofageschoir.com

Join Kam and Drew as they do a brief overview of some of the pieces, themes, and narratives that will be explored in Sound of Ages season retrospective concert. Repertoire to include William Byrd, John Tavener, Andrew Maxfield, Anton Bruckner, Claudio Monteverdi, and more. #soundofages soundofageschoir.com

Wind, Water, Stone is available now! Get it wherever you get your streams! Today we dive into Drew's setting of The Blue Bird , a text by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge made famous in the choral world by 19th Century English composer Charles Villiers Stanford. Kam and Drew discuss the differences between the French and German schools of thought when it comes to composition, the importance of line, the u...

Andrew Maxfield's setting of Paul Laurence Dunbar's famous text Invitation to Love serves as the subject of our next episode of deep dives into tracks from SOA's upcoming album Wind, Water, Stone . Hearkening to techniques from the renaissance madrigals, we get to feel and hear Drew's point of view of the text in song. soundofageschoir.com

Writing "simple" music can be rather complex and requires a lot of thought, craft, and discipline. The Lord of Glory Is My Light represents Andrew Maxfield's disciple and commitment to craft. This piece is the next track that will appear on Sound of Ages upcoming album Wind, Water, Stone, release date May 22, 2026.  Watch the video version! #soundofages soundofageschoir.com

In this episode, we dig into Drew's matrix of analysis that provides a framework for to categorizing and analyzing music in unconventional, but extremely useful ways. We use this framework to dissect his setting of the Nunc dimittis , a supremely jazzy composition that explores the boundaries between "song" and "composition," (however you define those terms). Watch the video version here.   Reserv...

When evensong canticles, vocal consort singing, electric guitar, and loop pedal canons combine, you get Andrew Maxfield's setting of the Magnificat , a track being released on SOA's upcoming album Wind, Water, Stone on May 22, 2026 by #novonarecords. https://www.soundofageschoir.com/wind-water-stone Watch the video version here!

Today we take a deep dive into track 2 of Sound of Ages upcoming album Wind, Water, Stone: O Oriens . This ancient chant melody is masterfully woven into contemporary textures and harmonies by composer in residence Andrew Maxfield. We discuss elements of the piece, philosophical approaches, specific passages, and calling back to ancient techniques.  soundofageschoir.com

Join us as we discuss the title track of our upcoming album  Wind, Water, Stone in depth. We discuss many of Drew's compositional methods such as word painting, counterpoint, genre-bending, and much more.  Wind, Water, Stone the album is set to launch on May 22, 2026.  https://www.soundofageschoir.com/recordings

Sound of Ages next album, Wind, Water, Stone will be released on May 22, 2026. The album is a collection of individual works by composer in residence Andrew Maxfield. Join us for the introduction to the album as we talk over the bit picture, the project genesis, stylistic approach, etc. The album will be released by Navona records on all major streaming platforms on May 22, 2026.  https://www.soun...

Welcome to the podcast formerly known as Early Music Monday. We've rebranded to The Sound of Ages Podcast where, we keep many of the similarities to Early Music Monday, but expand the scope to include projects, music, discussions related to the group and random musings from Kam & Drew.  On this special episode launch, Kam & Drew sit down and discuss Sound of Ages' premiere of Drew's newest...

Today we get to chat a bit about Renaissance Christmas music and the 2024 Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School, with the director Greg Skidmore. Greg sings in a number of professional chamber choir ensembles throughout the UK and elsewhere. The CRMSS fundariser, "Buy a Bar" can be found here. For CRMSS Registration information, please visit their website. Featuring a performance of Thomas Tall...

We get an exclusive sneak peak at some tracks on the upcoming album  Penitence & Lamentations by the Byrd Ensemble , conducted by Markdavin Obenza. We sit down with Markdavin and have a conversation about several of the tracks on the upcoming record, which comes out Friday, November 3, 2023, including a new commission by Nico Muhly . Follow the Byrd Ensemble on: Facebook Instagram

Today we get an exclusive look into the upcoming album of Josquin's music with Dr. Jesse Rodin, a professor at Stanford University and Artistic Director/Conductor of Cut Circle.  This album is the group's first installment of what will be a series of albums on Josquin's music. Dr. Rodin's research on Josquin has lead to some significant discoveries/conclusions regarding attribution of work and the...

A great pleasure to have I Fagiolini Director Robert Hollingworth along with Baritone Greg Skidmore for an exclusive interview about I Fagiolini's upcoming album "Missa Tu Es Petrus", featuring the previously unrecorded work of the same title by 17th Century Italian Composer Orazio Benevoli. Go download on your favorite streaming service on October 6, 2023 (or the album is available for purchase ....

On today's episode, we walk through the concert program for Sound of Ages upcoming Evensong concert. As part of their Evensong concert series, the Autumnal Equinox Evensong theme is opposites and gratitude. There are only a few tickets left so don't miss out, get your tickets here. Dr. Andrew Huberman podcast episode about gratitude. Tenebrae performing Part I of Ne Irascaris, Domine by William By...

Today we get to have a fantastic 'Improversation' if you will, with Dr.  Peter Schubert.  Peter Schubert came to Montreal from New York City, where he founded and directed Opera Uptown and The New Calliope Singers, a group renowned for its commitment to modern music during its fifteen-year career. The group presented over fifty premieres and released a critically acclaimed CD entitled "New Cantata...

Today we get to have a fantastic conversation with Professor Megan Long of Oberlin College & Conservatory. Megan Kaes Long studies European song traditions of the 16th and 17th centuries and the theoretical discourses that describe them. Her book, Hearing Homophony: Tonal Expectation at the Turn of the Seventeenth Century , was published by Oxford University Press in 2020 and won the Society f...

Today we get a follow up conversation with Nigel Short where he walks us through Joby Talbot's  Path of Miracles . The conversation is interspersed with audio clips from each movement. Watch Tenebrae perform Path of Miracles live from La Basilique de Saint-Denis in France. Tenebrae's album of Path of Miracles can be found on their website , Apple Music, Spotify, and wherever music is streamed. 

Today we get to chat with Nigel Short, Conductor and Artistic Director of Tenebrae Choir. We get to hear his journey as a singer, the genesis of Tenebrae choir, Nigel's approach to choral singing, his thoughts about renaissance music and more! Nigel's Bio :   Award-winning conductor Nigel Short has earned widespread acclaim for his recording and live performance work with leading orchestras and en...

Today we talk through Andrew's newest piece commissioned by Sound of Ages for their Sing Actually narrative concert: Poor Richard's Madrigal . This piece pays homage to Thomas Morley's  Now Is the Month of Maying.  We discuss comedy, madrigals,  and much more. Check out the live performance of Poor Richard's Madrigal on YouTube.   You can find the King's Singers performance of Now Is the Month of...