Coming Soon, Craig Hella Johnson's 'Considering Matthew Shepard'

Composer-conductor Craig Hella Johnson and his Texas choir Conspirare are major players in the US choral world, having released numerous albums showcasing both established repertoire (a particularly successful one focused on the Russian choral tradition) and newer works, such as those of Tarik O'Regan.

For his latest project, Craig has turned for inspiration to the death of Matthew Shepard at the age of 21 in 1998. His musical response, Craig says, has been gestating in his mind ever since the events of that day; it has emerged in the form of a modified Passion drama - drawing on a huge range of poets from Rumi to Tagore, as well as Dante and the Old and New Testaments and even extracts from reactions to the murder.

This bold, unashamedly "contemporary" project is what Conspirare do best - the album is set for release in November on Harmonia Mundi, but you can watch a short interview with Craig about what he calls his "fusion oratorio" below.