CHRIS THILE

Mandolinist, singer, and songwriter Chris Thile, described by the Guardian as "that rare creature: a jack-of-all-trades musician who is at home in any style, from bluegrass to classical," presents his first true solo album, ›Laysongs‹: just Thile, his voice, and his mandolin, and the intention of exploring his own spirituality.

›Laysongs‹ was recorded in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown in a converted church in New York State and is now finally being performed live. The centerpiece of the album is the three-part ›Salt (in the Wounds) of the Earth‹, composed by C.S. Lewis's ›The Screwtape Letters‹, which Thile premiered in 2018 during a composer's residency at Carnegie Hall. It was the first (and so far only) piece of music he composed to be performed alone, which felt like an opportunity to sing some words one wouldn't necessarily want to put into the mouth of a colleague. And little did he know that he was only at the beginning of what would become a solo adventure, both professionally and—who knows—philosophically.

Thile, who grew up in a Christian household, drew his inspiration for ›Laysongs‹ from a conversation he had backstage with former Nonesuch chairman Bob Hurwitz. Hurwitz encouraged him to make an album focused on the subject of God, as it pervaded his entire work. When the world went into COVID lockdown in the spring of 2020 and Thile's radio show "Live from Here" came to an end, he finally had time to seriously consider this idea. Eventually, he found a recording studio in an old church in Hudson, New York, where it became a reality.

"I loved how much sound surrounded the actual sound. I had two sonic partners on this album: the great engineer Jody Elff – and the church." This makes it all the more exciting to see how Thile's musical reflections on spirituality sound in the concert hall.