“Adam's Lament” was recorded with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Sinfonietta Riga, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, the Latvian Radio Choir and the Vox Clamantis ensemble.
It was recorded with Pärt's active participation in the resonant 13th-century church of St. Nicholas in Tallinn, that surrounds the singing with a hazy echo. The album conveys a feeling of partaking of ancient religious rites in a sacred space.
In January 2013, the BBC chose “Adam's Lament” as its recording of the month. At the beginning of January 2014, Pärt was given the title of the “world's most performed living composer” for the third year running by the classical music event database, bachtrack.com.
“Adam's Lament” was also nominated in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category.
The 56th annual Grammy Awards was held on 26 January 2014 in Los Angeles, USA.