Wild Swans
Catalog #: NV6547
Release Date: August 11, 2023
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicClarinetHarpPianoVoiceDiane Maltester and Nancy Bachmann take listeners on a mesmerizing musical journey with WILD SWANS. Contemporary composer Nancy Bachmann’s exquisite music entices listeners with an artist’s pallet of expressive and progressive sounds. Released under Navona Records, this extraordinary album showcases Bachmann’s compositions for the superbly talented clarinetist, Diane Maltester. WILD SWANS takes flight through compositions for voice, woodwind quintet, trios, duos, and unaccompanied clarinet. The wings of Bachmann’s imaginative energy and Maltester’s interpretive virtuosity transport the listener to beautiful and exotic destinations. As one explores the transcendent compositions on WILD SWANS Bachmann’s brilliance and versatility shine through on every track, illuminated by the extraordinary artistry of Maltester and all her collaborators. A captivating mix of wildness and grace!
Who is Sylvia
Catalog #: NV6282
Release Date: May 8, 2020
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoString QuartetVoiceJoseph Summer’s WHO IS SYLVIA, new from Navona Records, is a collection of Shakespeare’s works set to music that will make you question everything you thought you learned in high school English. Summer believes that the famous playwright’s true identity is not William Shakespeare but rather Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. Many of the songs found on WHO IS SYLVIA come from Summer’s aptly-named The Oxford Songs, a collection of scenes, sonnets, songs, and Summer’s original opera version of Hamlet. These are paired with music from the likes of Schubert and Schumann to create a dynamic and colorful musical experience worthy of the Bard himself.
Whispers of Heavenly Death
Catalog #: NV6198
Release Date: November 9, 2018
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoVoiceFirst up in this compelling collection is a selection of Walt Whitman's oeuvre, including the work that inspired the album's title, which Perkins' music hauntingly elucidates as the lament of a soul hovering on the brink between life and death. Intriguingly, the composer preserves the mood for the Holy Sonnets by John Donne, a Petrarch-style, English Renaissance collection of sonnets auguring the later Baroque period's preoccupation with the contrast between carnality and mortality.
Voices of Earth and Air Vol V
Catalog #: NV6538
Release Date: August 25, 2023
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirPianoVoiceNavona Records presents VOICES OF EARTH AND AIR VOL V, a dynamic album showcasing the human voice and the powerful storytelling capabilities that vocal music wields. Six contemporary composers from around the world offer breathtaking works that stir the senses in this release, from hauntingly beautiful ballads to uplifting choral arrangements and climactic moments of triumph. With intimate settings of the human voice with instrumental accompaniment, full-fledged choir works, and everything in between, the composers and performers on VOICES OF EARTH AND AIR VOL V deliver unique and impactful moments that are sure to strike a chord.
Unholy Sonnets
Catalog #: NV6578
Release Date: November 10, 2023
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceWind EnsembleFew forms in classical music are as underrated as the song cycle. It is easy to be betrayed by the seemingly-modest set-up – piano and solo voice – requiring well-calculated finesse from a composer to seize its minimalist power and bring it into full bloom. UNHOLY SONNETS, a collection of songs by German-born American Samuel Adler, succeeds greatly in this effort. Although all works presented are in English and the tonal language is decidedly modern, there is much that harks back to the German art song tradition of the 19th century. Despite the title, these are largely quiet, pensive pieces, confidently resting in a tranquil serenity.
Transparent Boundaries
Catalog #: NV6290
Release Date: June 12, 2020
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicCelloPianoVoiceFor centuries, writers have documented the awe brought about by the pristine wilderness and untamed expanses of the American Midwest and West. Three authors in particular—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson—beautifully documented the boundless optimism and sense of opportunity that the country’s vast natural resources inspired and heralded a new era of American thought.
Three Songs to Poems
Catalog #: NV6617
Release Date: April 5, 2024
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoVoiceTHREE SONGS TO POEMS brings to life poems written by clinical psychiatrist Dr. Frank Clark set to music by Gordon (Dick) Goodwin. The themes are as emotionally complex as life itself, and so is the music. The pieces illuminate the reflections of a son whose mother suffers from dementia, the joys of becoming a father, as well as the healing of an emotionally neglected child. Heart-wrenchingly performed by tenor Johnnie Felder and pianist Winifred Goodwin, this brief but complete set of songs is bound to leave a lasting impression.
The Spectra Series
Catalog #: NV6077
Release Date: January 13, 2017
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalVocal MusicChoirOrchestraPianoIn 2008, PARMA Recordings acquired Capstone Records, the highly respected New York-based classical label founded by composer Richard Brooks in 1986, with the intent of shepherding the company and its music into the digital era. This album was originally released on Capstone and is being re-released by PARMA Recording's Navona Records.
The Life Before Us
Catalog #: NV6153
Release Date: April 13, 2018
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceBearing musical witness to the versatile talents of two acclaimed northern California-based composers, THE LIFE BEFORE US combines works from John G. Bilotta and Allan Crossman. Bilotta’s cycle of Yeats Songs, performed by baritone Andrew R. White, highlights five of the poet’s shorter lyrics in predominantly bi-tonal or atonal settings. His collection of Renaissance Songs is based on the work of several Elizabethan poets, including John Donne and Thomas Lodge (whose poem “Rosalynde” was the source of Shakespeare’s As You Like It). They’re brilliantly delivered by tenor Justin Marsh.
The Fair Ophelia
Catalog #: NV5935
Release Date: November 1, 2013
21st CenturyStage WorksVocal MusicPianoVoiceTHE FAIR OPHELIA, the second installment on Navona Records' The Shakespeare Concerts Series, features works by composer Joseph Summer that are inspired by Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark! With Shakespeare's texts accompanied with music by Brahms, Strauss, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, and Joseph Summer, this album for vocal and chamber music consists of diverse settings that present the listener with an opportunity to hear Ophelia in a three dimensional perspective. Summer's works have been described as "[varying] in mood and compositional technique from piece to piece, but always beautifully expressive and deeply emotional" (Shakespeare Matters).
The Beauty of Innuendos
Catalog #: NV6488
Release Date: January 27, 2023
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceFrank Felice, an eclectic composer celebrated for his postmodern mischievousness, explores his own brand of “consonant adiatonicism” in THE BEAUTY OF INNUENDOS. Throughout the album, Felice sets a variety of texts to music, ranging from the antiphons of 9th century Christian mystic Hildegard of Bingen to the modernist poetry of Wallace Stevens. Felice’s compositions explore the given text while also demonstrating the virtuosic skill of the singer and the pianist; the latter, far from a mere accompaniment, joins with the voices equally to lend even great profundity to the poetic text. Featured in these recordings is mezzo-soprano Mitzi Westra, who commissioned two of the works. Above all, THE BEAUTY OF INNUENDOS solidifies Felice’s reputation as a dauntless and innovative composer.
Tetrahedron Dreams
Catalog #: NV5947
Release Date: April 1, 2014
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalVocal MusicChoirPianoDrawing from a diverse set of genres and stylistic sources including atonal, folk, chant, dance, and more, Alexandra Ottaway's solo Navona Records debut TETRAHEDRON DREAMS presents a singular and striking listening experience.
Tarot
Catalog #: NV6502
Release Date: April 28, 2023
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceWhat do you get when you tailor both music and lyrics to a tenor of brilliant clarity? A profound, cerebral, sensuous and at times even mystical experience, as demonstrated by vocalist Timothy Stoddard on his riveting new album TAROT. Born out of a year-long, close-knit collaboration between Stoddard, pianist Ellen Fast, and a diverse assortment of composers and librettists, TAROT proves the Aristotelian assertion that the whole is even more than the sum of its parts. These scintillating new vocal compositions all touch upon the vast mysteries of the great unknown wherever it overlaps with the human condition – be it in love, in death or in the occult. TAROT conjures an enchanting, dizzying, dreamlike universe – and Stoddard’s crystal-clear tenor is the effervescent guide.
Tapestry of Voices
Catalog #: NV6583
Release Date: December 1, 2023
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirPianoVoiceTAPESTRY OF VOICES from Navona Records showcases the versatility and elegance of the human voice woven with grand orchestral statements, colorful choral arrangements, and intimate settings with piano. Eight contemporary composers offer settings of poetry and stories from various cultures throughout human history, from Africa to Europe, North America, and beyond. Threading modern takes on Greek mythology, meditations on concepts of loss, morality, and more, TAPESTRY OF VOICES is exactly as its title suggests — an intricate and artistic convergence of ideas that’s sure to entrance those who experience it.
Sunset at Noon
Catalog #: NV6072
Release Date: February 10, 2017
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicChoirClarinetPianoSergio Cervetti returns with an exciting collection of works on his sixth Navona Records release, SUNSET AT NOON. A diverse composer, his works range from instrumental and vocal music to electronic compositions, often reflecting his South American, French and Italian heritage. His vocabulary draws from an early interest in twelve-tone and minimalism, and his current approach is flexible and free of constraint. With SUNSET AT NOON, Cervetti focuses on keyboard-based compositions for half of the album, with a foray into chamber music on the other half.
Summer & Winter Songs
Catalog #: NV6236
Release Date: June 14, 2019
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoVoiceHailed by the New York Times as "An interesting composer” and "attractive and tonal" with music described as "a passionate duet “ and "a sprightly songfest,” prolific contemporary composer Mira J. Spektor’s career spans decades, languages, and disciplines. With a compositional repertoire including chamber operas, musicals, film scores, art songs, and cabaret, Spektor has written English, French, and German songs and performed and recorded in the United States, Europe, and Israel. She is also a published poet and brings her wealth of knowledge, experience, and musical passion to her Navona Records debut SUMMER & WINTER SONGS.
Suenos De Espana
Catalog #: NV6211
Release Date: February 8, 2019
RomanticVocal MusicGuitarPianoVoiceSoprano Shudong Braamse blends vocal artistry with technical skill in her recording of SUEÑOS DE ESPAÑA. This treasury of Spanish art song relates stories of passionate love, broken promises, and heartfelt prayers. Braamse's performance demonstrates both an understanding of the rich Spanish culture and its 19th-century romantic poetry.
Spirits In Bondage
Catalog #: NV6450
Release Date: August 12, 2022
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoVoicePoetry and music have often been described as "beautiful sisters" in the European tradition, and American composer Benjamin C. S. Boyle sets out to prove just how harmonious this kinship can be. Owing to pianist and art song expert Laura Ward as well as to a selection of top-class singers, these elaborate yet easily accessible vocal compositions are resplendently brought to life on SPIRITS IN BONDAGE.
Soul Sanctuary
Catalog #: NV6406
Release Date: February 4, 2022
21st CenturyFolk MusicLiturgicalVocal MusicCelloPianoVoiceSoprano Maria Clark and pianist Maria Thompson Corley navigate the intense emotion, scars of suffering, and religious passion in the hymns and gospels on SOUL SANCTUARY from Navona Records. Featuring empowering spirituals from the past two centuries, the duo brings to life religious songs that have stood the test of time and find deep relevance today. Arranged by Thompson Corley and recorded in Atlanta GA’s Peachtree Presbyterian Church, these spirituals, including His Eye is on the Sparrow, Wade in the Water, and Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, offer uplifting outlooks in the face of adversity.
She
Catalog #: NV6150
Release Date: April 13, 2018
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceFor her debut album on PARMA recordings SHE, Emily Sternfeld-Dunn serves as the voice of two of history’s strongest female characters. The poetic musings in the lyrics soar with Sternfeld-Dunn’s unmistakable soprano under the current of the tender, delicate melodies performed by pianist Amanda Pfenninger.