Decca Classics has announced Hope in Shadow, the ninth studio album from cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. The announcement arrives with the release of the album’s first single, John Williams’ “Theme from Schindler’s List,” newly arranged for cello and orchestra.
Recorded with conductor Edward Gardner and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hope in Shadow brings together works by Saint-Saëns, Bruch, Ravel, Bloch and Williams. The programme includes Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1, Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, Bloch’s Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque and “Prayer,” Ravel’s “Kaddish,” and Williams’ theme from Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film Schindler’s List.
Kanneh-Mason said the album was built around music that finds moments of hope within darker emotional settings. “There is a darkness, a sombre and sorrowful quality that gives way to precious splashes of light,” he said. Several selections also have long personal histories for the cellist. He was drawn to Saint-Saëns’ concerto as a child and it was among the first concertos he learned; he first studied Bloch’s “Prayer” when he was around nine. Written in 1924 for cellist Hans Kindler, “Prayer” is the opening movement of Bloch’s three-part Jewish Life suite. The album also includes “The Swan” from Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals.
The programme also includes works rooted in Jewish prayer and tradition. Bruch’s Kol Nidrei draws on two Jewish themes associated with Yom Kippur, while Ravel’s “Kaddish” is based on the Jewish prayer of the same name. Bloch’s Schelomo uses the cello as a voice for King Solomon, set against large-scale orchestral writing. Kanneh-Mason described Ravel’s piece as “the most intimate and singular voiced work on this album.”
The album arrives in a milestone year for Kanneh-Mason, marking 10 years since he signed with Decca Classics and won BBC Young Musician. According to the label, his recordings have now passed 500 million streams across digital platforms.
