The video for Now Ensemble’s “Chant” is a dreamlike perspective of the remaining Rose windows of Notre Dame. We witness memory of their home — its reconstruction and subsequent fiery destruction — as conjured from the earth in lichen-like form.

Now Ensemble’s album Before and After imagines different moments during a civilization’s lifespan, from rise to fall. The album is a reflection on our place in the rhythm of the world’s much larger and longer patterns. The opening track, “Chant,” is like walking through an old church or ancient ruin whose detail and original purpose have long since disappeared. There is a feeling of beauty and peace, but also one of distance and separation — as if the beginning and end of civilization are being glimpsed at the same time.