Illinois Army National Guard Major Commissions World Premiere Recording of ‘Letters From The Front’

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Soprano Desirée Hassler, mezzo-soprano Angela Born, tenor John Riesen, and bass-baritone David Govertsen appear on the album.

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Classical pianist Ian Gindes, a major in the Illinois Army National Guard, has commissioned the new vocal album 'Letters From The Front,' to be released digitally July 3, 2026, on Lexicon Classics (LC 2604).

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'Letters From The Front' marks the world-premiere recording of the 2025 song cycle of the same name by New York- and Paris-based composer Patrick Zimmerli, with libretto by French stage director and librettist Mirabelle Ordinaire.

Scored for four singers and piano, the work is based on wartime letters from American military service members and their families dating from the Revolutionary War through the Gulf War. The four singers join forces for the 'Finale' track, which comprises texts from the letters. Full details about the project's origins, artists, and repertoire are here .

In addition to commissioning the work, Gindes, the project's Chicago-based executive producer and principal of Gindes Music Productions LLC, performs as the album's solo and collaborative pianist. Singers are soprano Desirée Hassler, mezzo-soprano Angela Born, tenor John Riesen, and bass-baritone David Govertsen.

'Through these private letters, poetic in their own way, we experience the direct, heartfelt emotions of service members who didn't know if they would live to see another day and family members who prayed for their safe return,' Gindes says on the album.

Gindes teamed with Zimmerli, Ordinaire, and classical radio veteran Steve Robinson, credited as 'artistic originator,' to select letters from The Pritzker Military Museum & Library, Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The project was inspired by classical WFMT radio's award-winning radio documentary, 'War Letters.' The program, conceived and championed by Robinson, debuted in 2001 when he was the Chicago station's general manager. The broadcast featured letters submitted by listeners and given dramatic readings by aspiring young actors.

'Letters From The Front' was produced by Patrick Zimmerli and engineered by Charlie Post at recording sessions January 12-14, 2026, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie, Illinois.

It will receive its world-premiere performance on August 19 at ChamberFest Brown County in Nashville, Indiana. Tickets and more information can be found here .

A pre-Veterans Day performance is scheduled for November 5 at the Donald W. Nixon Centre for Performing and Visual Arts, Newnan, Georgia. More information will be posted at thenixoncentre.net .

1. Overture (4:36) Ian Gindes, piano

2. I'll Live For Your Letters (2:39) Angela Born, mezzo-soprano

3. I Set Myself Down This Moment (2:01) John Riesen, tenor

4. Tonite Two Fellows Got Together (3:18) John Riesen, tenor

5. A Minute Doesn't Go By (5:00) David Govertsen, bass-baritone

6. Preparation For Battle (2:44) John Riesen, tenor

7. Vietnam War Song (5:13) John Riesen, tenor

8. Poem For Irving F. Diamond (4:14) David Govertsen, bass-baritone

9. I'll Live For Your Letters Reprise (3:02) Angela Born, mezzo soprano

10. Where Are You Tonight? (4:47) Desirée Hassler, soprano; John Riesen, tenor

11. All Greasy And Salty (1:54) Desirée Hassler, soprano

12. This Is A Most Horrible War (4:19) Desirée Hassler, soprano; John Riesen, tenor

13. Engagement Letter (6:39) David Govertsen, bass baritone; Desirée Hassler, soprano; Angela Born, mezzo-soprano; John Riesen, tenor

14. A Baby At Home (1:45) John Riesen, tenor

15. I Have A Rendezvous With Death (5:45) Desirée Hassler, soprano; Angela Born, mezzo-soprano; John Riesen, tenor; David Govertsen, bass-baritone

16. Now There Will Be Stories To Tell (2:17) David Govertsen, bass-baritone

17. It Won't Be Long Now (3:20) Desirée Hassler, soprano

18. Finale (2:56) Desirée Hassler, soprano; Angela Born, mezzo soprano; John Riesen, tenor; David Govertsen, bass-baritone

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwclassical/article/Letters-From-The-Front-Song-Cycle-to-Receive-World-Premiere-Recording-20260623)._