VOCES8 Foundation Choir, VOCES8 Foundation Orchestra, Jack Liebeck, Barnaby Smith - Rose Ever Blooming (2025) (Hi-Res)

Composers Jocelyn Hagen and Timothy C. Takach partnered with the VOCES8 Foundation Choir and Orchestra and violinist Jack Liebeck to create and record Rose Ever Blooming, a NEW 55-minute Christmas oratorio featuring SATB choir, violin solo, and orchestra. Rose Ever Blooming honors the role of Mary in the story of Jesus, highlighting the importance of family and the eternally strong bonds between mother and son. This thrilling collaborating is Hagen and Takach’s first full-length collaborative album. The oratorio will be premiered during VOCES8’s “LIVE From London” online Christmas festival in 2025, and will have in-person premiere performances in the U.K. and the U.S. See the kickstarter page that is making this project possible: Rose Ever Blooming: a new VOCES8 Foundation Christmas Album.

Composer’s Notes
Rose Ever Blooming honors the role of Mary in the story of Jesus, highlighting the importance of family and the eternally strong bonds between mother and son.

Inspired by Patricia Monaghan’s poetry, we have constructed a libretto featuring 12 of Monaghan’s poems and 3 traditional Christmas carol arrangements, which provide familiar musical touchstones while supporting the themes and narratives in Monaghan’s poetry.

We were drawn to this story because we are both parents. The everyday act of bringing life into the world is shared by millions, yet feels incredibly special and divine to each of us who do it. Patricia Monaghan’s poetry amplifies the responsibility and joy of parenthood. In her “Magnificat,” Mary takes power from within and shares that strength among all women and the miracle of birth.

Many moments of the Christmas story are highlighted in this piece. Each divine moment of the Christmas story is presented alongside a human counterpart. In Rose Ever Blooming, Mary’s story is presented as a reflection from the end of her life, beginning with the “Annunciation” and ending with her own list of “Beatitudes”—praising the ordinary and the everyday blessings we take for granted.

We see the onset of motherhood as a metamorphosis from an ordinary girl to one who will “bring forth the future.” A new “Magnificat” recognizes the divine within all of us. The resurrection of Jesus is foreshadowed beautifully through metaphor as the cutting of a tree in full bloom causes Mary to pause and cry over its loss, but wonder at the blooming of its flowers even after its death. It is refreshing to hear Mary’s story through her eyes, and Monaghan’s brilliant portrayal of her character shines through in these sensitive and poignant poems.

-Jocelyn Hagen & Timothy C. Takach

Tracklist
01. Lo, How a Rose
02. The Beginning of the Story
03. Annunciation; With a Sound Like Wings
04. Gabriel's Message (Full Version)
05. And Then It Was Over
06. Miracles
07. A Stranger Tells Us the News
08. Life After Angels
09. Resurrection
10. Magnificat
11. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
12. I Said Yes to Hope
13. Beatitudes
14. Woman Clothed With the Sun