Comme Bon Lui Semble
Catalog #: NV6560
Release Date: October 27, 2023
21st CenturyOrchestralSolo InstrumentalOrchestraPianoViolinComposer Sophie Dupuis presents dazzling, profoundly eclectic compositions inspired by visual art on COMME BON LUI SEMBLE. Dupuis' musical language is measured, almost minimalist, but the colors she weaves into bright tapestries of sound certainly aren't. Pop culture or high culture, she draws inspiration from numerous sources — leading to compositions that are at once highly abstract, yet highly descriptive. It's a tightrope to walk, and at dizzying heights, but thankfully, Dupuis is not susceptible to musical vertigo.
Columbian Harmony
Catalog #: NV6565
Release Date: October 13, 2023
21st CenturyChamberCelloPianoViolaMulti-genre composer Gary Smart explores a wide range of styles and transforms them into his own musical language on COLUMBIAN HARMONY. His soundscapes are sweeping, billowing meadows, often vast in their ambition and scope. At times richly textured, at times sparse, almost threadbare, Smart’s carefully designed works meander between grand rhapsody and heart rending simplicity. There is enough familiarity in this music to keep the listener anchored, but the element of surprise reigns supreme.
Collected Works of Beth Mehocic
Catalog #: NV6410
Release Date: January 14, 2022
21st CenturyOrchestralOrchestraThe music of composer Beth Mehocic comes together as a fulfilling and enticing whole in the COLLECTED WORKS OF BETH MEHOCIC. This all encompassing album merges the many corners and triumphs of Mehocic’s library, with commissioned pieces, tone poems, and various styles colliding in celebration of her extensive breadth of repertoire. Find early works like Piece by Piece alongside the more recent Left of Winter, Picasso’s Flight, and others with performances from Trio Casals, Croatian Chamber Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Altius Quartet, Zagreb Festival Orchestra, and more.
Clementi Grand
Catalog #: NV5966
Release Date: August 1, 2014
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalPianoWhat must it feel like to play an instrument that is one of seven known to exist in the world and is two hundred years old? Pianists Shuko Watanabe and Timothy Gaylard know this feeling, playing works written by Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) on a Clementi grand fortepiano in pieces on the Navona Records release, CLEMENTI GRAND.
Clay Jug
Catalog #: NV6073
Release Date: February 10, 2017
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirThe choral music of Minnesota-based composer Edie Hill shines on CLAY JUG, a compendium of large and small works for a cappella choir and choir accompanied by chamber ensemble. Though the works featured on CLAY JUG vary in scope, they all demonstrate Hill’s keen sensitivity to ensemble texture and harmonic density, as well as the incorporation of text across four languages.
Claviatures
Catalog #: NV5864
Release Date: October 1, 2011
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalClarinetPianoViolinCLAVIATURES is a collection of new works for piano and chamber ensemble from contemporary composers. These works by Asherov-Kalus, Scully, Tribble, Fletcher, Nagorcka, and Stölzel explore the notions of being human and observing the world around us with reflection, curiosity, and appreciation. This recording contains eight original and inspired pieces performed with talent and panache by musicians from around the world: pianists Karolina Rojahn, Lukáš Klánský, and Robert Pherigo; violinists Ondrej Lébr and Ann Marie-Brown; violist Neil Casey; clarinetist Doug Graham; flutist Lisa Hennessey; and cellist Lawrence Figg.
Circle of Friends
Catalog #: NV6014
Release Date: November 13, 2015
21st CenturyChamberPiano TrioViolaTrailblazer. Advocate. Innovator. All of these descriptors apply to Grammy Award-winner Libby Larsen, but at the core is the most important title of all: Artist. As the first woman to serve as a resident composer with a major orchestra and one of the most performed and prolific composers of our time (she has over 500 works in her catalog, including 15 operas), Larsen has established a permanent place in the annals of American concert music.
Cipher
Catalog #: NV5962
Release Date: July 1, 2014
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalPianoOftentimes in our technology-driven global society, words can become obscured in meanings and associations depending on how they are interpreted or translated. On the other hand, music in its abstraction often can prompt more concrete interpretations. Composer Michael J. Evans explores the relationships between words, music, and meaning on his latest release on Navona Records, CIPHER.
Chinoiserie
Catalog #: NV6417
Release Date: April 8, 2022
21st CenturyChamberEast AsianGuitarA true melding of Eastern and Western cultures, Duo Chinoiserie’s CHINOISERIE combines the Chinese guzheng and European classical guitar to create an inspired new canon of classical repertoire. A bold and carefully handpicked selection of compositions—including new arrangements of Granados, de Falla, and Debussy alongside a transcription of Goss and new works by Assad, Duplessy, and Nakanishi—explores the instruments’ dialogue and complementary textures while uniting contrasting musical styles into a cohesive, well-defined whole. As the guzheng’s crisp, plucky clarity interplays with the guitar’s chords, even the most well-known classical pieces become fresh and energized, born anew with a unique and visionary sound.
Chiaroscuro
Catalog #: NV6097
Release Date: May 12, 2017
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalClarinetGuitarViolinGlobal guitarist and composer Giovanni Piacentini’s talents as a dual-threat musician are on full display on CHIAROSCURO, his debut album. He wrote all these works themed around his instrument of choice, and his playing appears on two pieces – Miniatures, for guitar and chamber ensemble, and a solo guitar performance on the title track. Yet, even on the tracks where he does not perform, the composer’s voice remains ever-present, namely in each work’s reverberant use of space.
Chamber Works of Éric Tanguy
Catalog #: NV6451
Release Date: August 26, 2022
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceCHAMBER WORKS OF ÉRIC TANGUY from Navona Records and composer Eric Tanguy delivers three world premiere recordings and a curated selection of the composer’s chamber pieces that demonstrates his illustrative style of punctuated modality. Brought to life by talented artists Ambroise Aubrun (violin), Cécilia Tsan (cello), Steven Vanhauwaert (piano), Martin Chalifour (violin), and Elissa Johnston (soprano), these seven pieces reflect many years of past collaboration amongst the performers resulting in a connection that is translated through thoughtful yet intense musical stylings. Tanguy’s ear-catching melodies and personalized compositions foster a sound quality that showcases the strengths and dexterity of the performers, all the while providing a stimulating and intimate listening experience.
Chamber Music for Our Times
Catalog #: NV6310
Release Date: September 25, 2020
21st CenturyChamberPianoString QuartetViolinNew from Navona Records and Craig Morris comes CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES, a stirring album of original chamber works. Following DREAMS, which was released in 2011 to critical acclaim, CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES is the work of a master craftsman with an ear for poignant lyricism. The album features four pieces, each of which exhaustively explores the colors and timbres available to the chamber ensembles.
Centuria S-Quark
Catalog #: NV6200
Release Date: January 25, 2019
21st CenturyOrchestralOrchestraComposer Stas Namin has been recognized throughout his lifetime for using art to critique society and stand up against injustice, and his latest work with the London Symphony Orchestra is certainly no exception. CENTURIA S-QUARK, Namin’s symphony, is the composer’s prediction of a strange, material world to come in which humanity functions less as a community and instead favors individual interests. Using the sonata form as a base, Namin builds from multiple themes to create the symphony — after all, life itself is so complex that the human experience does not build from just a couple themes.
Centennial
Catalog #: NV6309
Release Date: September 25, 2020
21st CenturyRomanticChamberElectronicPianoSaxophoneNew from Navona Records is saxophonist José Antonio Zayas Cabán’s CENTENNIAL, an album of cutting-edge solo and chamber music reflecting on the shortcomings of the 19th Amendment during its 100-year anniversary. Rather than celebrating, this album urges listeners to recognize the significant work that remains in achieving global equality.
Celestial Voices
Catalog #: NV6600
Release Date: March 1, 2024
21st CenturyLiturgicalVocal MusicVoiceEthereal, uplifting, and deeply impactful throughout. The works on CELESTIAL VOICES check these boxes and more. Featuring sacred choral works from several contemporary composers, this offering from Navona Records is a musical exploration into the divine that’s ready to be experienced in both stereo and Dolby Atmos immersive audio formats. Modern harmonies and rhythmic freedom, new settings of famous hymns, fragments of plainchant that highlight contemporary topics, and more are expressed with clarity and spirit by The Kühn Choir of Prague in this release, who are joined by supportive instrumentalists at various points in the program.
Causal Dualism
Catalog #: NV5886
Release Date: October 1, 2012
21st CenturyChamberOrchestralSaxophoneString OrchestraTromboneCAUSAL DUALISM, Keith Kramer's second full-length release on Navona, is a celebration of dichotomy and relationships between all things. Duality, for soprano, saxophone, bass trombone, and string quartet, explores the interaction and relationships of the ensemble; Causality represents the string orchestra's journey of expression and highlights the action and reaction that permeates through all events; Flame of Attention, for soprano saxophone, the beginning of a long-term collaboration between the composer and Gottfried Stoger.
Cascading into Reverie
Catalog #: NV5910
Release Date: May 1, 2013
21st CenturyOrchestralSolo InstrumentalPianoString OrchestraFrench composer Yves Ramette's (1921-2012) music is marked by its ability to broadcast "messages of the heart," offering unflinching and distinguished representations of emotion and experience using traditional forms. A student of Honegger and contemporary of Boulez, among others, Ramette's works draw from the rhythmic and harmonic elements of mid-20th-century France.
Carthage
Catalog #: NV6287
Release Date: May 22, 2020
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirGRAMMY-winning chamber choir The Crossing is back with their latest installment in a multi-album series with Navona Records. CARTHAGE comes on the heels of the 2020 GRAMMY-nominated album THE ARC IN THE SKY, released last summer. In this latest offering, artistic director Donald Nally leads the choir through six striking pieces by composer James Primosch that confront the most elemental questions of Western philosophy.
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.
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.