Quanta Qualia 3
Thousands of voices
From dozens of countries
Recorded over 5 years
Over the Summer of 2024, Choir of the Earth invited singers around the world to learn, sing and record Patrick Hawes’ beautiful Quanta Qualia 3, to be part of the latest rendition of our back-to-back Hall of Fame winner.
The Concert Performance was conducted live by Musical Director Ben England on Thursday 12 December 2024, followed by the premiere of our official music video - catch up with both below.
For those who want their Quanta Qualia on demand and on the move, digital downloads are now available below, including high quality audio and video files for Choir of the Earth’s recording of this spectacular piece. Get the new Quanta Qualia 3 track and video only, or upgrade to our Ultimate EP for 6 superb mixes, including unheard mmixes, plus 4 high quality videos!
Quanta Qualia Digital Downloads
The ‘Quanta Qualia 3 - Track Only’ digital download includes the following:
Quanta Qualia 3 audio recording in WAV (high quality) format
Quanta Qualia 4 audio recording in MP3 (lower file size) format
Official Quanta Qualia 3 music video in high definition (MP4 format)
The ‘Quanta Qualia - The Ultimate EP’ digital download includes the following:
Audio Tracks - provided in both WAV (highest quality) and MP3 (lower file size) format:
Quanta Qualia 3 Choir with cello by Laura Peribañez Artero
Quanta Qualia 3 Choir a cappella
Quanta Qualia 3 Choir with saxophone by Sophie Burrows
Quanta Qualia 3 Choir with cello by Jiaxin Cheng / Lloyd Webber
Quanta Qualia 1 Choir with saxophone by Sophie Burrows
Quanta Qualia 2 Choir with cello by Jiaxin Cheng
Full HD videos - provided in MP4 format:
Quanta Qualia 3 Music Video
Quanta Qualia 2 Music Video
Quanta Qualia 1 Music Video
Quanta Qualia 3 Behind the Scenes
Quanta Qualia 3 Concert Performance
Conducted live by Musical Director Ben England BEM
Thursday 12 December 2024 at 17:00 GMT
Quanta Qualia 3 Music Video Premiere
Thursday 12 December 2024 at 18:00 GMT
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Quanta Qualia 3 was open to everyone worldwide for a small sign-up cost of £5, or £8.50 if you also needed a copy of the digital score.
We sent singers all the teaching and rehearsal resources they needed to learn, record and submit their recordings for the piece at home.
We invited singers - whether or not their voices were already in the mix from Quanta Qualia 1 or 2 - to join in and submit a new recording. Some singers submitted multiple takes, while others took the opportunity to learn and record a different part this time.
Our singers generously crowdfunded to pay for a new cello solo for this epic rendition, performed by the wonderful Laura Peribañez Artero.
The deadline for submissions was Saturday 31 August 2024 at 22:00 UK time.
Our sound engineers and Musical Director then mixed all of the voices submitted in 2020 for Quanta Qualia 1, 2021 for Quanta Qualia 2 and 2024 for Quanta Qualia 3, plus the cello solo, creating a brand new mix.
Lastly, we sought approval of the final rendition from composer Patrick Hawes, who was very happy to give us his blessing to share it with the world.
Quanta Qualia 3 was unveiled at our Concert Performance, conducted live by Musical Director Ben England BEM, on Thursday 12 December 2024, following which we released our standalone music on the Choir of the Earth and Radio Choral accounts.
Whether you took part or not, we hope you enjoy this stunning final performance, available at the links above.
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We asked our singers to help us raise money to commission a new cello solo for this third rendition of our anthem, played by the wonderful Laura Peribañez Artero, who has played for a number of our performances in recent years.
We were delighted to raise enough to fund this wonderful new cello solo within a matter of days.
Well done and a huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated!
COTE and Quanta Qualia: A History
We first learned and recorded Quanta Qualia during Summer School 2020, when pandemic lockdowns worldwide made its text, written by Patrick's brother Andrew Hawes, all the more poignant:
“O anima mea, mane! O quanta qualia conventus gaudia erunt.”
(O my soul, wait! O how great and how wonderful the joys of meeting will be)
Our first recording featured voices from around the world alongside a fantastic saxophone solo by Sophie Burrows. It touched hearts far beyond the Choir.
When Dame Louise Casey appeared on BBC Radio 4's famous Desert Island Discs programme, she selected The Self-Isolation Choir's rendition of Quanta Qualia as one of her tracks - hear her touching explanation here.
Quanta Qualia - Patrick Hawes | performed by Choir of the Earth & Sophie Burrows
The piece soon became the Choir's anthem and, as our choral family grew, we were asked to reopen recordings.
Quanta Qualia 2 premiered at the final concert of our Festival of Choral Music in November 2021, with original voices, new voices and a new cello solo from renowned cellist Jiaxin Lloyd Webber.
Quanta Qualia - Patrick Hawes | performed by Choir of the Earth & Jiaxin Lloyd-Webber
When we held our first Hall of Fame vote in 2023, Quanta Qualia topped the chart. It retained the Number 1 spot in 2024 and, due to popular demand, in Summer 2024, we reopened submissions for a third time!
Hear more about Quanta Qualia 3 from Choir of the Earth’s Musical Director, Ben England BEM:
Quanta Qualia 3 - Introduction from Ben England BEM
