Where is home, and can music take you back there? This question is at the heart of Coming Home with Music, a programme by GRAMMY-nominated countertenor Reginald Mobley and lautten compagney BERLIN. To mark the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence, they cover a wide range of genres: from Baroque arias and European psalms to spirituals, gospel songs and songs by Stevie Wonder. The focus is on the encounter between Baroque and the present, between early music and African-American traditions.
Well-known Handel arias such as »But who may abide the day of His coming« (Messiah) and »Heroes, when with glory burning« (Joshua) are juxtaposed with moving spirituals such as »Sometimes I feel like a motherless child« and »Joshua fit the battle of Jericho«. Mobley, who effortlessly navigates between Handel and gospel, between centuries and continents with his expressive voice, reflects on the idea of music as home. The result is a moving musical journey from Africa and Europe via London to the New World – a search for belonging that finds its destination in music.
