brea(d)th

Carlos Simon and Marc Bamuthi Joseph present brea(d)th with the Minnesota Orchestra – in honor of George Floyd. This recording is the largest scale musical response to George Floyd’s murder to date, and is performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, whose home sits less than 3 miles from the site of his death. With the weight of a full symphony orchestra, a 150-person chorus from both Minneapolis and South Africa, and a compositional team of Black men at its center, the piece iconically captures the moment in a way that is as robust as the magnitude of George Floyd’s impact. Crucially, this recording doesn’t rest in a place of trauma, it instead implores America to orbit around its historical lessons to launch itself closer to the origins of its possibilities. brea(d)th inspires its listeners to remember the American promise...to honor the “breadth of the task”... to “feast on the bread that bought us one more day to TRY to get it right”...to “restore the debt of stolen breath.”

brea(d)th Tracklist:
‍1. prologue
2. breath
3. elegy
4. bread
5. breadth

Carlos Simon, composer
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, librettist

Featuring: 
‍Marc Bamuthi Joseph, spoken word artist
Minnesota Orchestra
Jonathan Taylor Rush, conductor
Minnesota Chorale, choir
29:11, choir
Twin Cities Choral Partners, choir