Because Reginald Mobley and Baptiste Trotignon

• Anonymous: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 1Anonymous: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)03:10
• Anonymous: Were You There? (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 2Anonymous: Were You There? (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)03:48
• Anonymous: I Got a Robe (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 3Anonymous: I Got a Robe (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)02:35
• Baptiste Trotignon (b. 1974): Why:
• 4Trotignon: Why02:29
• Florence Price (1887 - 1953): Because:
• 5Price: Because01:58
• Anonymous: Steal Away (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Patrick Dupré Quigley):
• 6Anonymous: Steal Away (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Patrick Dupré Quigley)03:40
• Anonymous: Save Me Lord, Save Me (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 7Anonymous: Save Me Lord, Save Me (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)02:05
• Anonymous: Bright Sparkles in the Churchyard (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 8Anonymous: Bright Sparkles in the Churchyard (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)04:07
• Anonymous: Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 9Anonymous: Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)03:38
• Florence Price: Resignation:
• 10Price: Resignation03:23
• Anonymous: A Great Campmeetin' (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 11Anonymous: A Great Campmeetin' (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)02:53
• Florence Price: Sunset:
• 12Price: Sunset02:16
• Anonymous: My Lord, What a Morning (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 13Anonymous: My Lord, What a Morning (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)04:13
• Harry Burleigh (1866 - 1949): Jean:
• 14Burleigh: Jean03:11
• Anonymous: By an’ by / There is a Balm in Gilead (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon and Harry Burleigh):
• 15Anonymous: By an’ by / There is a Balm in Gilead (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon and Harry Burleigh)04:56
• Norman Whitfield (1940 - 2008), Barrett Strong (1941 - 2003): I Heard It Through the Grapevine:
• 16Whitfield, Strong: I Heard It Through the Grapevine03:08
• Anonymous: Deep River (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon):
• 17Anonymous: Deep River (Arr. for Countertenor and Piano by Baptiste Trotignon)03:47
• Total Runtime55:17

Info for Because

During the long era when Bach, Mozart and Beethoven were creating the musical canon of Western Europe, the songs of African slaves resounded in the colonies on the other side of the Atlantic, expressing pain and longing, but also joy and the desire for freedom. The American countertenor Reginald Mobley - a rising figure in baroque music, notably under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner with whom he sings very regularly - and the French pianist Baptiste Trotignon, winner of numerous awards (Victoires du Jazz, Django d'Or) have combined their talents and sensibilities to celebrate these spirituals and the music of Black composers including Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) and Florence Price (1887-1953), whose beautiful transcriptions and melodies blend with Baptiste Trotignon's subtle arrangements of the famous Sometimes I feel like a motherless child or I got a robe... The melody "Because", composed by Florence Price on a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar, inspired the title of the album: Because I had loved so hard (...) Because I had loved so vainly... Why this album? Because...

Reginald Mobley, counter-tenor
Baptiste Trotignon, piano

Reginald Mobley
Noted for his ‘shimmering voice’ (BachTrack), GRAMMY-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley is globally renowned for his interpretation of the baroque, classical and modern repertoire and leads a very prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic. An advocate for diversity in music and its programming, Reginald became the first ever programming consultant for the Handel & Haydn Society following several years of leading H&H in his community engaging Every Voice concerts. He also holds the position of Visiting Artist for Diversity Outreach with the Baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire, and is a regular guest with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, Seraphic Fire, and Agave Baroque.

With the latter, Reginald recorded ‘American Originals’, a collection of Spirituals, which granted his nomination to the GRAMMY Awards in 2022. His American 2022/2023 Season will start with a solo recital at the Miller Theatre (NYC) showcasing Bach Cantatas, followed by his debut with New York Philharmonic in Messiah, a piece he will also sing with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Later on in the season, he will feature as a soloist in Carmina Burana with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and in concerts with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver and Seraphic Fire. Previous engagements have included concerts and recordings with Opera Lafayette, Blue Heron, Orchestra of St Luke’s, LA Master Chorale, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Portland Baroque Orchestra and Early Music Seattle.

In Europe, Reginald has been invited to perform with Orchester Wiener Akademie, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Balthasar Neumann Chor & Ensemble, Bach Society in Stuttgart, and Holland Baroque Orchestra among others. His name is often associated with John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, with which Reginald has been touring and recording for the past ten years including a European tour in spring 2023. In summer 2022, Reginald will make his debut with Dutch Bach Society in concerts in Bremen and Utrecht, will appear for the first time with I Barocchisti at Opéra de Lausanne under the baton of Diego Fasolis as Disinganno in Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, a role he will reprise at the Barbican Centre with Academy of Ancient Music led by Laurence Cummings. In the autumn of 2021, he performed the role of Ottone in L'incoronazione di Poppea in a European tour with The Budapest Festival Orchestra with stops at Grand Théâtre de Genève, MUPA (Budapest) and Teatro Olimpico (Vicenza).

His recordings have been received with great critical acclaim. His first solo album with ALPHA Classic will be released in June 2023. It will showcase a collection of Spirituals accompanied by the world-renowned French pianist Baptiste Trotignon. Reginald features on several albums with the Monteverdi Choir, including a recording of Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Magnificat, where Reginald ‘encapsulates whimsical pathos’ (Classical Music Magazine).

Booklet for Because