Division and its opposite, the unity that stems from common understanding and mutual trust, helped shape Hold These Truths. Lara Downes spent two years crisscrossing her homeland in search of hope for its future, sharing conversations with people from all backgrounds and drawing inspiration from them to build an album of songs old and new that captures the abiding spirit of America. The American classical pianist and self-styled cultural activist has woven a rich tapestry from diverse musical fragments. Her compassionate anthology speaks of an idealism so often tested to the point of destruction yet raised up by beliefs rooted in collective commitment to those inalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” While Downes sees the latest chapter of America’s story as a tale of “crisis and chaos, uncertainty and instability, division and devastation,” her album offers a strikingly optimistic message about the staying power of the nation’s creative freedom. Hold These Truths celebrates such open-hearted, honest tunes as Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More,” delivered here in spellbinding partnership with jazz trio 9 Horses, Howard Hanson’s “Joy,” and the traditional “In the Sweet By and By”; and also the compelling ways in which these songs and melodies invite people to park their differences, connect with the music and share the listening experience as equals. The message is amplified in “Welcome” by Puerto Rican-born, Boston-based composer Edmar Colón, “Lusty and Joyful” from American Sonata by Elie Siegmeister, son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, and Joseph Brent’s poignant arrangement of “In the Mornin’,” Charles Ives’ plangent take on the old African American spiritual.