All in the Sound
Catalog #: NV6510
Release Date: March 10, 2023
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoVoiceFollowing his 2022 release, STORIES OUT OF CHERRY STEMS, this latest collection of vocal music by Baltimore-based composer Peter Dayton reinforces his establishment as a mature and formidable talent in the world of art song. ALL IN THE SOUND captures the heart of the genre: duet between voice and accompaniment. Characteristically and integrally, Dayton’s songs exhibit internal compositional logics of pervasive rhythmic patterns and intervallic relationships that create music that still viscerally satisfies. The album takes listeners on a captivating journey through physical, emotional, and abstract imagery. Triumphantly, Dayton’s music realizes the poignancies possible in the duet that is art song.
All Is Mere Breath
Catalog #: NV6587
Release Date: December 8, 2023
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirOrchestra"Havel havalim hakol hevel," — “Merest breath, all is mere breath.” In the throes of lockdown, Nicholas Weininger found himself reflecting on this Hebrew verse; what is the nature of our collective life sustained on if not breath and breath alone? It was a breath robbed and convoluted during the COVID-19 pandemic: the ravaged breath of the afflicted, the fear of coming too close to the breath of another. Our world seemed to pause and take a breath, busy city streets gone barren amid our collective anxieties. Debuted and recorded by the Empire City Men’s Chorus, ALL IS MERE BREATH asks us to question the nature of our changed society in the thought of mere breath alone, and offers us refuge in the breath of song, perhaps, now and then, the purest form of it.
Allusions
Catalog #: NV5927
Release Date: September 1, 2013
21st CenturyChamberClarinetOboeString QuartetThe chamber ensemble format has historically been able to intimately interpret works with a variety of emotional nuance, and retains flexibility to perform music with myriad influences. ALLUSIONS, an album of evocative chamber works, showcases the expressive and interpretive abilities of contemporary composition and features works by five composers.
Amass
Catalog #: NV6543
Release Date: July 28, 2023
21st CenturyLiturgicalVocal MusicChoirGRAMMY-nominated conductor Eugene Rogers brings to life Jocelyn Hagen’s setting of the Roman Catholic Mass in AMASS. This work stands apart from the Mass settings of other composers who have practiced this centuries-old genre, including Johann Sebastian Bach and Franz Joseph Haydn. While the music relies on the traditional Mass structure, it incorporates the spiritual writings of a diverse group of thinkers, ranging from a Muslim woman writing in the sixth century to a German theologian tried as a heretic 500 years later. In this way, the music is less about a particular religion but instead reaches toward the ineffable.
American Dreams
Catalog #: NV6004
Release Date: August 14, 2015
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetThe intersection of classical music and popular and folk music is where the journey begins for the Seattle-based Saint Helens String Quartet - consisting of Stephen Bryant, violin; Adrianna Hulscher, violin; Michael Lieberman, viola; and Paige Stockley, cello - exploring a sonic vision of American culture presented by four contemporary composers on their debut Navona Records release, AMERICAN DREAMS.
American Ivory
Catalog #: NV6328
Release Date: January 8, 2021
20th Century21st CenturySolo InstrumentalPianoFor Richard Fountain, piano music is as American as apple pie and baseball. On AMERICAN IVORY, his debut album on Navona Records, the well-versed pianist celebrates the variety and vitality of American art music by performing a decades-spanning collection of works by time-honored and contemporary composers alike.
American Scenes
Catalog #: NV6446
Release Date: August 12, 2022
21st CenturyOrchestralWind EnsembleAMERICAN SCENES, from composer Samuel A. Livingston is, as its title suggests, a painterly tribute to America. The album’s title piece, Three American Scenes, is a three-movement suite that expresses the grandeur of the American west, the serenity of a mountain lake at dawn, and the bustle of a busy day in a large city. The album opens with Celebrating the Fourth, which depicts an American Fourth of July celebration. The final two selections feature works for concert band with a solo instrument – the flute, in Silvertube Variations, and the clarinet, in Balkan Dance. In that last selection, Livingston turns his attention beyond our shores, to the harmonies and rhythms of the folk music of the Balkan countries, especially Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Altogether, AMERICAN SCENES is thoughtfully-crafted and unabashedly jubilant, expressing appreciation for America and the world beyond with refreshing sincerity.
Amplify
Catalog #: NV6456
Release Date: October 28, 2022
21st CenturyRomanticChamberSolo InstrumentalFlutePianoString QuartetGlobally recognized for its unique radio programming, innovative collaborations, and community outreach, All Classical Portland presents AMPLIFY, a response to the industry’s inequities in classical music recordings. The works of five contemporary composers are brought to light in this album, each infused with recollections of stories, cities, and movements that have made an impact along the artists’ journey. As the 1,000th album brought to life by parent organization PARMA Recordings, this important Navona Records release marks a monumental achievement in highlighting voices in classical music, and is a step in helping to change America’s playlist.
An Orchestral Journey
Catalog #: NV6047
Release Date: August 12, 2016
21st CenturyOrchestralOrchestraA composer equally accustomed to writing for orchestra, opera, film, theater, chorus, and chamber ensembles, Brian Wilbur Grundstrom’s voice includes a strong affinity for long melodic lines, distinctive tonal harmonic vocabulary, engaging rhythms, skillfully executed counterpoint, and dramatic imagery, all of which are reflected in the five orchestral works which span fourteen years on his debut release with Navona Records, AN ORCHESTRAL JOURNEY, to create a visionary and lyrical expedition that is quite accessible and easily travelled for the listener.
Ancestral Voices
Catalog #: NV6130
Release Date: November 10, 2017
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetNavona Records presents ANCESTRAL VOICES, the Apollo Chamber Players’ next installment in their 20x2020 project. 20x2020 is an initiative to commission 20 new folk music-inspired and multicultural works by the end of the decade. This fiery release comprises four 20x2020 works from composers Gilad Cohen, Arthur Gottschalk, Malek Jandali, and Javier Farias.
And That Moment When the Bird Sings
Catalog #: NV6163
Release Date: June 8, 2018
21st CenturyChamberPianoPiano TrioViolinSimon Andrews has earned a reputation as a creator of eloquent concert music that blends harmonic complexity and lyricism, introversion and broad gestures, and delicate timbres and bold statements. Here, on his recording debut, AND THE MOMENT WHEN THE BIRD SINGS, he offers up 10 compositions performed in a variety of configurations, from duos to trios and quintets, all of which emphasize his proficiency in both vocal and instrumental music.
And the Snow Did Lie
Catalog #: NV6280
Release Date: April 24, 2020
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetNew from Navona Records comes AND THE SNOW DID LIE, composed by Hilary Tann and performed by Sirius Quartet. Tann, a Welsh-born composer living in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains was inspired to write this commissioned work by a series of illustrations from the classic French-Canadian novel, Le Survenant. These images are included with the release of this digital single.
Andalusian Fantasy
Catalog #: NV5999
Release Date: May 1, 2015
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalPianoThe Spanish tradition of flamenco music, by way of Paco Peña and Paco de Lucia, has significantly influenced the classical music world. Now composer and pianist Lionel Sainsbury explores the fiery passion and harmonic tension of flamenco on his latest Navona Records release ANDALUSIAN FANTASY.
Andrew Anderson: Chamber Works
Catalog #: NV6476
Release Date: December 2, 2022
21st CenturyChamberPianoViolaViolinIn a modern age crowded with distractions, one quickly learns to appreciate the little oases of peace. Andrew Anderson's 2022 Navona Records release, CHAMBER WORKS, might just be such an oasis – written with replenishing qualities, great clarity, and a sense of purpose. Throughout the album, Anderson skillfully demonstrates his ability to draw on the styles of the great compositional masters while creating a musical language that is truly unique and spoken through a variety of thoughtful orchestrations. Comprehensive in its content and imbued with tranquility, ANDREW ANDERSON: CHAMBER WORKS offers a variegated glimpse into Anderson’s distinct compositional style.
Andrew Lewinter: Chamber Works
Catalog #: NV6471
Release Date: November 11, 2022
21st CenturyChamberCelloPianoViolinTonality is slowly but steadily making its way into the toolbox of contemporary music again. Accomplished orchestral horn player Andrew Lewinter, who returned to composing in 2016 after a long hiatus, thankfully discovered that very toolbox, and the result can be heard on CHAMBER WORKS. Two quintets and one trio in classical instrumentation, and the neo-Romantic tonal language to match: it’s a difficult feat to pull off. Lewinter, however, diversifies with minimalist elements and, drawing from his considerable experience as an orchestral performer, imbues his chamber works with symphonic richness. It’s the secret ingredient, and it works.
Anthelion
Catalog #: NV6402
Release Date: January 28, 2022
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalCelloOrchestraViolaNavona Records presents ANTHELION, showcasing favorite works from composer Adrienne Elisha (1958-2017). The works that comprise the album are technically demanding and rich in philosophical significance. Anthelion, for one, is a sonic contemplation of a natural phenomenon in which the sun’s light is projected across the sky, reflecting itself on the opposite horizon. The two-movement work, scored for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, percussion, and piano, expresses moments of “sonic abstraction” and continuous reverberation by way of unique instrumental timbres. In TranscenDance, on the other hand, Elisha makes a humanistic statement about the Syrian civil war, borrowing joyful melodies from Arab music and reimagining them in an orchestral setting. In this way, the music of ANTHELION is at once abstract and deeply contextual, challenging yet ultimately transcendent.
Architect
Catalog #: NV5905
Release Date: July 1, 2013
21st CenturyOperaStage WorksElectroacousticComposed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lewis Spratlan with librettist and electroacoustic composers Jenny Kallick and John Downey, ARCHITECT is an exploration of the relationship between the aural and visual, how they interact, intertwine, and define each other. Based on the life and work of renowned twentieth-century architect Louis I. Kahn, the opera portrays the powerful emotions that inspire his creative journey as he seeks to discover the principles that will guide his life's work, namely, the relationships between sound and space, connections between the past and present, and the incorporation of a material's innate characteristics into a larger whole.
Aria
Catalog #: NV6577
Release Date: January 5, 2024
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicHarpPiano TrioVoiceComposer Michael Cohen delivers an enticing follow up to his 2022 Navona Records release with ARIA, his second full album of original chamber works. Featuring a mix of studio and live recordings captured from various points in his diverse and expansive career, Cohen’s music emanates a thorough line of vitality and fervor. While strikingly rooted in tonal principles, these works embrace an elegant, confident, and ebullient character, permeated by a magnificent, effervescent spontaneity throughout.
ARK Resounding
Catalog #: NV6493
Release Date: February 3, 2023
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicCelloPianoVoiceNon-standard setups in classical music may be interesting, but they are commonly faced with the problem of limited repertoire. The ARK Trio, formed by soprano Allison Charney, cellist Kajsa William-Olsson, and pianist Reiko Uchida, has found a way of circumventing this challenge by commissioning works from contemporary composers as well as re-arranging classics, and the result can be heard on their debut release, ARK RESOUNDING. The pieces presented here may be an eclectic mix of American history, Bachian and Schubertian influences, and timeless poetry, but they are all united by one common denominator: the bittersweet trials and tribulations of love.
Arp City
Catalog #: NV6613
Release Date: April 19, 2024
21st CenturyElectronicIt doesn’t happen often that the talents of art and science unite in one person. Lawrence Ball, creator of experimental electronic music and accomplished tutor of mathematics, reconciles both disciplines on his new release, ARP CITY. The result is a truly timeless blend of synthesizers, layered soundscapes, and whimsical human creativity. While the acoustic topography of ARP CITY is undeniably cerebral, it is also captivating to the ear. The instruments employed evoke the groundbreaking era between the 1960s and 1980s, when even the highbrow figures of popular music didn't take themselves too seriously. Yet, there is an ethereal quality to Ball's work that seems to draw its force not from the past; rather, it seems to be a transcendental exploration of a mysterious future.