Old & New Poetry Vol II
Catalog #: NV6474
Release Date: November 11, 2022
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicClarinetPianoVoiceComposer Carl Vollrath and Navona Records presents OLD & NEW POETRY VOL II, a compelling musical-literary experience featuring the works of seminal poet William Blake and contemporary writer John Gracen Brown. An enticing follow-up to his 2021 release of the same title, Vollrath employs piano and clarinet with various vocal ranges in this recording, each an intimate setting reflecting his close relationship with the text itself. Deeply in tune to nature and captured from the lens of the human experience, Vollrath’s musical response to this poetic language shows his dedication to and passion for these works.
No Enemy but Winter and Rough Weather
Catalog #: NV6134
Release Date: January 12, 2018
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicVoiceEven the most fearful of the cold will draw warmth from Joe Summer’s comforting NO ENEMY BUT WINTER AND ROUGH WEATHER, the sixth album honoring The Shakespeare Concerts Series, of which he is founder and executive director. Track 1 is Summer’s own Concert Overture for Piano, an icy introduction performed by SangYoung Kim. Following are two settings of “Under the Greenwood Tree.” Track 2 is the inviting setting by William Walton performed by soprano Kathryn Guthrie and pianist John McGinn. Alluring, too, is Track 3 the Erich Wolfgang Korngold setting of the text performed by Kim and mezzo-soprano Thea Lobo. Kim stays at the piano for Track 4—“When Birds Do Sing”—also by Korngold; Guthrie delivers this spritely tune.
Modern Muses
Catalog #: NV6377
Release Date: October 22, 2021
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicCelloVoiceMODERN MUSES is an entirely new presentation of captivating music in its first commercial recording and release, showcasing works composed by women and works representing female perspective. Inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, Josefien Stoppelenburg’s arresting soprano is juxtaposed with Jean Hatmaker’s poetic cello in this recording, fostering a rich musical dichotomy that blends together in a refreshingly powerful way.
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.
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.
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.
I Love You Like Spain
Catalog #: NV6357
Release Date: July 23, 2021
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceMonika Gurak certainly is no ordinary songwriter: not just because of her academic background, but also because of her love of foreign cultures. Her linguistic fluency in English, Spanish, and Polish heavily influences her work on I LOVE YOU LIKE SPAIN from Navona Records: the songs are sung in English, but the music comes with a generous helping of both Iberian exoticism as well as Polish sensibility.
Heaven to Earth Border House
Catalog #: NV6364
Release Date: September 24, 2021
21st CenturyChamberEast AsianPercussionVoiceAustralian Bruce Crossman blends East and West in his new release HEAVEN TO EARTH BORDER HOUSE on Navona Records. With his modernist approach to musical construction and style, he effortlessly integrates traditional Western, Korean, and Chinese instruments and philosophies into a coherent, enlightening whole.
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.
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.
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.
From the Valley of Baca
Catalog #: NV6208
Release Date: February 8, 2019
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoViolinVoiceComposer 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.
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.
Fleeting Realms Vol. 2
Catalog #: NV6348
Release Date: May 14, 2021
21st CenturyChamberPiano TrioString QuartetVoiceEven 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.
Emergence
Catalog #: NV6161
Release Date: May 11, 2018
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalChoirPianoVoiceComposer/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.
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.
Daytime & Night Songs
Catalog #: NV6256
Release Date: October 25, 2019
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicCelloGuitarVoiceComposer 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.
David Jaeger: Chamber Works for Viola
Catalog #: NV6528
Release Date: June 9, 2023
21st CenturyChamberPianoViolaVoiceCHAMBER WORKS FOR VIOLA from composer David Jaeger gathers together some of Jaeger’s most defiantly creative compositions and demonstrates the vast possibilities of the viola and the chamber music genre as a whole. The album includes pieces like Diptych for viola and piano, lamenting at one moment and brazen the next. Six Miniatures on poems by David Cameron, for solo viola brings to life the poetic works of David Cameron, winner of the 2014 Hennessy Literary Award for Poetry. The album features the tasteful virtuosity of violist Carol Gimbel and pianist Cullan Bryant. Jaeger’s music will surely remind listeners—and perhaps even some other composers—of the rich tonal palate the viola offers.
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.
Conversations with My Soul
Catalog #: NV6336
Release Date: February 5, 2021
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoString QuartetVoiceNewly 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.