This world premiere recording features two new choral collections. The Fire of Love sets the words of fourteenth-century English mystic Richard Rolle, who depicted the soul’s movement towards God through the phases of heat, sweetness, and song, with song being the ultimate expression of the soul. For the second collection, Patrick has set nine of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence, and the fragile poetry gives rise to tender and heartfelt music.

“Somehow, I knew that I and The Same Stream needed to collaborate on a recording with Patrick Hawes. This recording grew out of our shared desire to collaborate on some new scores. Over the months that ensued from our initial meeting, the music on this CD grew out of meaningful exchanges between a composer and a conductor… Both works, The Fire of Love and Songs of Innocence, represent settings of profound poets that capture some essences of lives lived. But what made an impact upon us all was the honesty that Patrick Hawes knitted into these scores. Working with him on this recording was inspirational for us all. His passion for communicating through sound was radiantly clear to us, and it is our hope that his passion for these words by Richard Rolle and William Blake become alive in your ears and your heart."

— James Jordan

Click here to download the CD booklet

Learn more about this album from Patrick Hawes, James Jordan, and The Same Stream in the video below: