The Crossing’s Carols after a Plague, featuring Leila Adu-Gilmore’s composition “Colouring-In Book,” was recently nominated for the 2024 Grammy for Best Choral Performance.
“Colouring-In Book is the story of waking up every day believing that the world will be different and finding that we may, instead, face the same problems,” Adu-Gilmore said. “The repeating black and white pages of the poemare about trauma, and post-traumatic stress, whether collective or personal. The song’s dedication is ‘to every child, teenager & adult who needs to know that they are not alone.’ The beginning of the song repeats ‘there, there’ as in to a child, adding the first letters of the alphabet and the types of words that children use to learn
it. Moving through different life stages, the tension of trying hard
at life increases while the same outcomes repeat (at one time the
singers getting stuck like a broken record). Rather than fruitlessly
saying ‘man up,’ ‘cheer up,’ or ‘it’ll all be okay,’ the piece openly
acknowledges the pain of bad experiences. It is not a hero myth of winning and achieving but a recognition of the struggle of everyday people. By accepting our vulnerability and encouraging compassion for ourselves and others, we are able to make it through the hardest of times.”
The album was released on December 2022 on New Focus Recordings.