The Met Opera Chorus has released a project with Rhiannon Giddens in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the recent events that have shaken the country.

The new project was developed during the summer when Rhiannon Giddens, newly appointed Artistic Director of Silkroad, approached the Met Opera Chorus about collaborating on a reworking of her 2015 song “Cry No More,” created in response to the massacre at Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Michael Abels, the composer of the movie “Get Out,” worked with both the Full-Time and Extra Chorus, individually filming their parts before submitting them for sound and video editing. Members of the Met Opera Chorus joined artists Tahirah Whittington, Alex Al, Sidney Hopson, Imani Sailers, and director David Miller of Il Divo.

In a statement, Giddens said,  “As we have seen from the Civil Rights Movement, music has a unique way of bringing people together, and being an emotional voice for what’s going on. I don’t know who I will reach with this, but if one person is moved, comforted, and inspired to keep it going, that’s enough for me.”

Additionally, Ned Hanlon, Chair of the Met Chorus Committee said, “The Met’s season may be canceled but the Met Opera Chorus has pledged to continue to find ways to perform that are innovative, safe, and important. There is so much work to be done; stories must be heard, action must be taken, and change must be enacted, but in the midst of the troubles we are facing, let this be our resounding affirmation that Black Lives Matter.”