Kaddish
Catalog #: NV5834
Release Date: September 1, 2010
21st CenturyOperaStage WorksOrchestraVoiceLawrence Siegel’s Kaddish is an evening-length cycle of fifteen original songs for chorus, soloists, and chamber ensemble that serves to find a common ground with those who survived the Holocaust. The choral masterpiece’s libretto is drawn from interviews with Holocaust survivors and incorporates elements of folk songs and traditional Klezmer music. As a whole, Kaddish brings us on a journey through the cultural identities of pre-Holocaust central Europe, reflections of the atrocities that occurred during those years, and the victims’ desire for ordinariness.
Carmen’s Revenge
Catalog #: NV5837
Release Date: November 1, 2010
21st CenturyChamberStage WorksOrchestraPianoVoiceCARMEN'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.
Devisadero
Catalog #: NV5849
Release Date: May 1, 2011
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceWind EnsembleDEVISADERO 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.
Good News Falls Gently
Catalog #: NV5854
Release Date: July 1, 2011
21st CenturyChamberPianoVoiceGOOD NEWS FALLS GENTLY features the works of Chicago-based composer and oboist Patricia Morehead: Disquieted Souls, inspired by pre-Christian Celtic legends of goddesses and the supernatural; The Handmaid's Tale, motivated by the chilling, futuristic writing of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood; It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers, a reflection on modern times and the proclivity towards bad news; Ladders of Anxiety, an abstract work inspired by colorful medical charts that taps into our inner anxieties; and Good News Falls Gently, a setting of the poetry of Chicago-based writer Regina Harris Baiocchi that portrays an intense spiritual faith from a feminist perspective.
Sound Spectrum
Catalog #: NV5862
Release Date: November 1, 2011
21st CenturyOrchestralOrchestraPianoVoiceSOUND SPECTRUM features works for piano, soprano, and orchestra by composer Allen Bonde. Bonde draws from his personal experiences and feelings to craft beautiful pieces with a wide range of styles: Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra, a cohesive work cast in traditional harmony; Three Elizabethan Songs and Three Elizabethan Songs Revisited, a set of works blending simplicity and sophistication; Symphony No. 1, a kaleidoscopic orchestral piece with astounding instrumental color; Rose Window, a musical representation of the breathtaking Rose Window at Mount Holyoke Chapel; Sonus I, a 12-tonebased and freely composed piece in variation form; Four Shakespeare Songs, a fresh take on the Bard's work stylistically reflective of the 1920s; You Were The One, based on the sensitive poetry of Mary Jo Salter; and Encore Blues, a one-take improvised celebration of the recording sessions. Often performing the works himself as pianist, and in collaboration with the "Bonde Family," his oeuvres provide warmth, intimacy and compositional diversity with each piece.
Night of Light
Catalog #: NV5866
Release Date: April 1, 2012
21st CenturyOrchestralVocal MusicString OrchestraVoiceNIGHT OF LIGHT is the latest CD from Cypriot composer Sophia Serghi featuring five of her works for orchestra and voice: Night of Light, a musical reaction to Easter in Manhattan and a document of the composer's spiritual growth; Serghi's earliest work for orchestra and voice, Cantus Integritatis, comprised of four introspective and meditative movements based on the composer's own Latin poetry; Full Moon Haiku, a collaboration with poet Nancy Schoenberger setting the mensal characteristics of the full moon to music; Ikon, inspired by an unusual Ikon in Paris; and Night of Light: Reprise.
Kleemation
Catalog #: NV5884
Release Date: October 1, 2012
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicFlutePianoVoiceKLEEMATION AND OTHER WORKS is the debut Navona release from Rockport-based composer Elizabeth Vercoe, featuring six of the composer's works for small ensemble and solo instruments. The title piece, Kleemation for flute and piano, draws its inspiration from five drawings by Swiss artist Paul Klee. Through her expertly crafted music, Vercoe effectively captures the moods and styles of the visual elements from which she works, ranging from wry humor to anxiety about the state of our world.
Laws of the Pipe
Catalog #: NV5889
Release Date: October 1, 2012
21st CenturyChamberPianoString QuartetVoiceA collection of works by Curt Cacioppo celebrating and lamenting the history of the Native American peoples. Composed and performed with impeccable attention to detail and historical accuracy, these vibrant and emotional tone poems urge the listener to consider the vibrancy and plight of Native American culture as they guide us through musical narratives of the past.
Shakespeare’s Memory
Catalog #: NV5899
Release Date: January 1, 2013
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceSHAKESPEARE'S MEMORY is the first offering Navona's The Shakespeare Concerts Series. A salmagundi of selections from composer Joseph Summer's The Oxford Songs, this album includes previously unreleased recordings spanning the life of the series. This first volume includes Summer's original chamber and vocal compositions set to Shakespeare's dramas and sonnets and the poetry of Milton and Yeats, performed by a slew of musicians: the Kalmia String Quartet, baritone Chad Sloan, soprano Andrea Chenoweth, mezzo-soprano Kellie Van Horn, tenor Justin Vickers, pianists Miroslav Sekera and Ian Watson, and harpist Lydie Härtelovä.
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).
Four Quartets of Songs & Arias
Catalog #: NV5936
Release Date: November 1, 2013
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceFOUR 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.
Brass Rail Blues
Catalog #: NV5953
Release Date: May 1, 2014
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicClarinetPianoVoiceOn 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.
Goddesses
Catalog #: NV5973
Release Date: October 14, 2014
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicVoiceGODDESSES is the third offering in Navona Records' The Shakespeare Concerts Series, which presents several works by composer Joseph Summer from his collection of settings of Shakespearean scenes, sonnets, and soliloquies, Oxford Songs.
Michael Murray: Percipience
Catalog #: NV5994
Release Date: April 14, 2015
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicVoiceThe history of setting literary text in music is a considerable one, from Schubert's Lieder to Benjamin Britten's Serenade to art songs of the 21st century. Composer Michael Murray presents four song cycles on PERCIPIENCE, all of which emphasize the deep connection between poetry and music as varying means of expression that can reveal different facets of the same idea.
Orpheus With His Lute Made Trees
Catalog #: NV5995
Release Date: April 14, 2015
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicVoiceOn the fourth offering in Navona Records' The Shakespeare Concerts Series, ORPHEUS WITH HIS LUTE MADE TREES, executive director and composer Joseph Summer presents original works and pieces by composers from the 18th through the 21st centuries that celebrate the myth of Orpheus.
Full Fathom Five
Catalog #: NV5996
Release Date: April 14, 2015
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicVoiceFULL FATHOM FIVE, the fifth offering in Navona Records' The Shakespeare Concerts Series, takes the story of The Tempest, from the shipwrecked crew and magical spirits to the imprisoned servants and their questions of identity, and presents a variety of works from the 18th to the 21st centuries that set texts and depict themes from Shakespeare's play.
Crimson & Lace
Catalog #: NV6006
Release Date: August 14, 2015
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicVoiceOn 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.
A Hopeful Place
Catalog #: NV6045
Release Date: June 10, 2016
21st CenturyOrchestralVocal MusicString OrchestraVoiceComposer 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.
The Vocal Music Of Alan Beeler
Catalog #: NV6049
Release Date: July 8, 2016
21st CenturyLiturgicalVocal MusicChoirVoiceThe music of Alan Beeler (1939-2016) is frequently a compact, tightly focused one, presenting sharp contrasts of color and mood in the context of clear, direct compositional structures. Although noticeably influenced by artistic movements in Europe and America during the first half of the 20th century, Beeler’s musical voice is an identifiable one – crisp, bold, and pointedly quirky.
Cadence
Catalog #: NV6061
Release Date: October 14, 2016
21st CenturyChamberLiturgicalVocal MusicPianoVoiceCADENCE, 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.