Calling All Dawns

Calling All Dawns is a song-cycle in three movements: day, night and dawn. Each movement corresponds to a different phase of life--life, death, and rebirth. In short, it's 5 songs about life, 3 songs about death, and 4 songs about rebirth. There are songs of joy, mystery, and hardship, reflecting the complexity of our mortal selves. There are songs of the deepest, darkest sorrow to accompany us through death. And finally, there are songs of triumph and exultation that bring us roaring back to life, beginning the cycle anew.
Part I: Day
Baba Yetu "Our Father" Swahili
Mado Kara Mieru "Through The Window I See" Japanese
Dao Zai Fan Ye "The Path Is In Returning" Mandarin
Se É Pra Vir Que Venha "Whatever Comes, Let It Come" Portuguese
Rassemblons-Nous － － "Let Us Gather" French
Part II: Night
Lux Aeterna "Eternal Light" Latin
Caoineadh "To Cry" Irish
Hymn do Trójcy Świętej "Hymn To The Holy Trinity" Polish
Part III: Dawn
Hayom Kadosh "Today Is Sacred" Hebrew
Hamsáfár "Journey Together" Farsi
Sukla-Krsne "Light And Darkness" Sanskrit
Kia Hora Te Marino "May Peace Be Widespread" Maori
The twelve songs are sung in twelve languages, including Swahili, Mandarin, Hebrew, Irish, Farsi, and many more. The lyrics themselves come from a variety of sources, both sacred and secular: Japanese haiku, Maori proverbs, the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita, and many more. Each song flows seamlessly into the next, and the album ends on the same chord that it opens with--thereby representing the fluid, cyclical nature of the universe. It carries a strong message of unity: that regardless of race, culture and religious belief, we are all connected through our common human experience.
Calling All Dawns was recorded at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Lucas Richman. Performers on the album include the Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, Grammy-nominated opera singer Frederica von Stade, Portuguese fado sensation Dulce Pontes, early-music quartet Anonymous 4, and Iranian singer Sussan Deyhim, J-Pop star Lia, and an ensemble of over 200 instrumentalists and singers. It was recorded and mixed by three-time Grammy-winning engineer John Kurlander.
Calling All Dawns is Christopher Tin's debut album. It was started in 2005, and released October 1st, 2009, nearly four years after its conception.