Catalog

Since composer, conductor and musicologist Alicia Terzian founded Grupos Encuentros in 1978, the six-person group has garnered international acclaim for its success at bringing the music of avant-garde Argentinian and Latin American composers to the world. On 40 YEARS OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC, their debut recording for NAVONA RECORDS, the group combines compositions from such well-known Latin American composers as Heitor Villa-Lobos, Alberto Ginaslera, and Terzian herself with works by an international array of composers that ranges from Anton Webern (Germany) to Luciano Berio (Italy) to Franz Schreker (Austria) to Pierre Boulez (France).

Composer Dan Redfeld presents A HOPEFUL PLACE: A SONG CYCLE FOR SOPRANO & CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, his debut release on Navona records showcasing his nine-movement song cycle of the same name. A Hopeful Place follows a woman’s journey through life from birth to death—a life-cycle-song-cycle, as librettist John Gabriel Koladziej describes the piece.

New York City native Michael Cohen surprises with a formidable cross section of his oeuvre, the splendidly and mysteriously named A SONG FOR SILENCED VOICES. Narrowly skirting traditional notions of (a)tonality, this selection of works leaps to and fro between collected serenity and impassioned melodicism. The setups are as diverse as the music: A SONG FOR SILENCED VOICES includes a string quartet, an excerpt of Cohen's opera Rappaccini's Daughter, a Prelude for Piano, a chamber/vocal work titled I Remember based on works from his musical Yours, Anne, as well as the album's namesake piece, which happens to be not a song, but a duo for cello and piano.

AL COMBATE, the debut release from the Chicago Arts Orchestra (Javier José Mendoza, Artistic Director), highlights New Spain as a mecca of baroque and galant music through a handpicked selection of works from two of eighteenth-century colonial Mexico's most prolific and influential composers, whose music explores the period's transatlantic cultural flow from Europe to New Spain: Ignacio Jerusalem, a master of the galant style who brought modern European styles and techniques across the Atlantic; and Santiago Billoni, whose harmonic experimentation and erudite voice helped shape late baroque repertoire.

Composer Garth Baxter makes his PARMA debut with a collection of his exquisite works for voice entitled Ask the Moon. This album is about the human condition and the pursuit of light in darkness. A setting of Sara Teasdale’s “Nights Without Sleep,” for voice and piano commences the album’s journey of introspection.

On her second release on Navona Records, BRASS RAIL BLUES, Canadian composer and oboist Patricia Morehead showcases her ability to incorporate varying instrumentation into her compositions, from mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble; to flute and piano; to mandolin, cello, and clarinet. Because of this variety, the composer creates a world of imagery, setting poems by such writers as Margaret Atwood, Anne Sexton, and Cathy Ann Elias in several of her pieces.

BUTTERFLY EFFECTS AND OTHER WORKS contains four pieces of music, each with its own personality. Vercoe composed Butterfly Effects using evocative melodies reminiscent of a butterfly in flight. The mood of each of the seven movements, set by the interplay of harp and flute (piccolo, bass, alto, or concert flute), is at times somber and reflective, and at other times bluesy and brilliant. Vercoe experiments with various techniques, sometimes with soaring melodies and trills in the flute, and at other times with more primal, percussive sounds such as beat boxing and key slaps.

CADENCE, the new vocal music compilation from Navona Records, offers a set of inspired, emotive premiere recordings by composers Christopher J. Hoh, David Kirtley, Joanne D. Carey, and Timothy Kramer in works juxtaposing the ethereal and the earthy, the diaphanous and the muscular, and the serene and the agile.

Since the late 18th century, art songs have combined poetic vocals and equally intricate instrumental accompaniments to delight listeners with intimate compositions across the globe. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Trio’s CANTILENA spans the centuries and continents to highlight the form’s enduring appeal.

CARMEN'S REVENGE is Osias Wilenski's humorous homage to Bizet's Carmen. Wilenskidraws from the works of Bizet, Mozart, and others to create a sort of operatic medley that places Carmen within modern society. This recording features soprano Maria Rosa López and baritone César Puente.

Newly released from Navona is CONVERSATIONS WITH MY SOUL, a collection of new chamber works from acclaimed composer-pianist Bun-Ching Lam. The music sets in different languages the poetry of Shelley, Heine, Rimbaud, and Lasker-Shüller, as well as the poems of 9th Century Chinese mystic Han Shan and contemporary writer Etel Adnan. In a compositional voice The New York Times has called “alluringly exotic,” Lam incorporates baritone voice, piano, viola, flute, French horn, and harp to elucidate timeless works concerning life’s fundamental questions.

So many of us wonder about the big picture questions in life. Why are we here? What is the best I can do in my lifetime? COSMIC WHEEL OF THE ZODIAC, with lyrics by astrologer Benita Rainer, presents a cosmic rumination for meditation upon these great questions. These songs guide you through the labyrinth of the Cosmos, which, as perfectly attested to in “As above, so below,” is also the labyrinth of your mind; as what is without has its genesis in what is within.

On CRIMSON & LACE, Navona Records' compilation of modern works for voice and chamber ensemble, composers John G. Bilotta, David DeVasto, and Paula Diehl present works that depict the struggles as well as the rewards of human experience, such as heartache, death, love, hope, uncertainty, tragedy, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Composer Mira J. Spektor presents both sensitivity and passion in her new album DAYTIME & NIGHT SONGS. She combines masterful, original compositions with thought-provoking poetry written by a number of artists.

DEVISADERO features the original compositions of New Mexico-based composer Christopher Shultis. Through woodwinds, percussion and piano, Shultis is able to vividly describe the New Mexican wilderness and the significance of its beauty. Shultis' compositions invite the listener to experience not only the sound of the music, but what we see and think, and especially, how we breathe, as well.

Beginning as a single spark of inspiration, the orchestral work blossoms into something transcendentally grand and organically rich. DIMENSIONS VOL 2, the second in Navona Records’ series for orchestra, presents five organically inspired compositions, with music that is as multidimensional and richly textured as the subject matter is multifaceted. Traverse through each unique work and witness what vast results can be drawn from the creative mind.

Composer/arranger/lyricist Joanna Estelle presents EMERGENCE: a compilation of works produced under her personal philosophy that “quality music uplifts humankind.” The album includes a generous list of collaborators: John Gordon Armstrong (arranger), Laurence Ewashko (baritone), Morgan Strickland, Susan Elizabeth Brown and Laura Dziubaniuk (soprano), Brandon Wilkie and Roland Gjernes (cello), Frédéric Lacroix (piano), and two choral ensembles, Ewashko Singers and Capital Chamber Choir.

Even the briefest moments can burn themselves into memory, inspiring feelings that last a lifetime. On FLEETING REALMS VOL 2, works in chamber settings tap into our innermost thoughts and emotions, stirring the senses and sparking imagination.

FOUR QUARTETS OF SONGS & ARIAS, the debut Navona release by composer Roger Bourland, takes us on a touching journey by way of works for voice (Juliana Gondek) and piano (William Lumpkin). The album features four song cycles, each a four song set depicting a range of emotion and feeling.

Composer David Carpenter’s PARMA debut, FROM THE VALLEY OF BACA, features three works that illustrate the expansive scope of his compositional style. From the lyrical Trio, to the powerfully poetic title work for baritone and piano, to the romantically-inclined Sonata, FROM THE VALLEY OF BACA demonstrates the composer’s ability to express his artistic vision in a wide variety of musical genres.