• No Enemy but Winter and Rough Weather

    Catalog #: NV6134

    Release Date: January 12, 2018

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Voice

    Even 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.

  • Old & New Poetry

    Catalog #: NV6342

    Release Date: June 11, 2021

    21st Century
    Vocal Music
    Clarinet
    Saxophone
    Voice

    Carl Vollrath’s OLD AND NEW POETRY from Navona Records is a lovingly-prepared setting of the works of seminal poets William Blake and Sara Teasdale, as well as the contemporary writer John Gracen Brown. The verses chosen by Vollrath—including such varied selections as Blake’s “The Fly,” Teasdale’s “Dusk In War Time,” and Brown’s “The Coming of a Summer Rainstorm”—all reflect the composer’s belief in the interdependency of all life on earth. Employing piano, saxophone, and mezzo-soprano, Vollrath thoughtfully pushes tonal boundaries in response to the poetic language.

  • Old & New Poetry Vol II

    Catalog #: NV6474

    Release Date: November 11, 2022

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Clarinet
    Piano
    Voice

    Composer 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.

  • Orpheus With His Lute Made Trees

    Catalog #: NV5995

    Release Date: April 14, 2015

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Voice

    On 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.

  • Pictures of the Hidden

    Catalog #: NV6180

    Release Date: September 14, 2018

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    String Quartet
    Voice
    Wind Ensemble

    Kamyar Mohajer’s PICTURES OF THE HIDDEN honors the composer’s “four Grand Masters:" Johann Sebastian Bach, Persian poet Hafez, and his parents. In this album, Mohajer shares his artistic upbringing by combining his roots in Persian modality with his love of Western classical music.

  • Preach Sister, Preach

    Catalog #: NV6244

    Release Date: August 9, 2019

    21st Century
    Vocal Music
    Piano
    Voice

    PREACH SISTER, PREACH showcases award-winning Katherine Jolly’s “agile, bright lyric soprano” voice (The New York Times) on a series of pieces that are distinctively individual in their inspiration while cohesively united by the passions of their composers.

  • Psalms

    Catalog #: NV6354

    Release Date: July 23, 2021

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Liturgical
    Vocal Music
    Flute
    Piano
    Voice

    One does not have to be religious to appreciate the depth, inspiration, and melodiousness of PSALMS, Eloise Hynes Stowe's new album from Navona Records. Scored for voice and piano, and occasionally supplemented by flute and violin, these psalms and hymns immediately demonstrate the literary and emotional grasp of the biblical texts and ecclesiastical interpretations.

  • Quadrants Vol. 4

    Catalog #: NV6483

    Release Date: January 13, 2023

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    String Quartet
    Voice

    QUADRANTS VOL. 4 comes as the fourth installment of Navona's acclaimed series of string quartet recordings by contemporary composers. This time, a variety of ensembles perform a selection of pieces by Daniel Gil, Jacob E. Goodman, John Summers, Sami Seif, and Judith Lang Zaimont. Like its predecessors, QUADRANTS VOL. 4 presents musical creations that are highly structured, thoroughly conceptualized and profoundly cerebral, drawing upon subject matters as diverse as Kabbalistic philosophy, English urban poetry, and Arabic cultural identity, among others. Often the result of years-long toil, these compositions are by no means easy to perform – but each ensemble masterfully succeeds with virtuosic panache.

  • Quotation of Queries

    Catalog #: NV6278

    Release Date: April 10, 2020

    21st Century
    Vocal Music
    Voice

    Fresh from Navona Records comes QUOTATION OF QUERIES, featuring the students of Hong Kong Baptist University under the direction of Professor John Winzenburg. This collection of choral music explores notions of culture throughout the course of human civilization. It features traditional compositions, recent works, and even three debut recordings by prominent composers from Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

  • Shakespeare’s Memory

    Catalog #: NV5899

    Release Date: January 1, 2013

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Piano
    Voice

    SHAKESPEARE'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.

  • She

    Catalog #: NV6150

    Release Date: April 13, 2018

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Piano
    Voice

    For her debut album on PARMA recordings SHE, Emily Sternfeld-Dunn serves as the voice of two of history’s strongest female characters. The poetic musings in the lyrics soar with Sternfeld-Dunn’s unmistakable soprano under the current of the tender, delicate melodies performed by pianist Amanda Pfenninger.

  • Soul Sanctuary

    Catalog #: NV6406

    Release Date: February 4, 2022

    21st Century
    Folk Music
    Liturgical
    Vocal Music
    Cello
    Piano
    Voice

    Soprano Maria Clark and pianist Maria Thompson Corley navigate the intense emotion, scars of suffering, and religious passion in the hymns and gospels on SOUL SANCTUARY from Navona Records. Featuring empowering spirituals from the past two centuries, the duo brings to life religious songs that have stood the test of time and find deep relevance today. Arranged by Thompson Corley and recorded in Atlanta GA’s Peachtree Presbyterian Church, these spirituals, including His Eye is on the Sparrow, Wade in the Water, and Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, offer uplifting outlooks in the face of adversity.

  • Soundscapes

    Catalog #: NV6412

    Release Date: July 8, 2022

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    String Quartet
    Violin
    Voice

    Award winning composer Peter Knell offers a deep dive into a number of his inspirations and formative experiences through a variety of orchestrations in SOUNDSCAPES from Navona Records. Expressed through solo violin, violin and vocal duo, and string quartet, Knell’s work encompasses the poetry of Pablo Neruda, the art of Rolf Stein, landscapes of his youth, and more. Dive in and become immersed in the natural imagery and sensations both Knell and these performers bring forth.

  • Spirit of Humanity

    Catalog #: NV6292

    Release Date: June 26, 2020

    21st Century
    Orchestral
    Vocal Music
    Choir
    Orchestra
    Voice

    A historical feast awaits listeners on Ganesh Kumar's first NAVONA release SPIRIT OF HUMANITY. Half intended as an homage to Beethoven, half a musical portrayal of a little-known refugee crisis in World War II, it aims to be an epically emotional orchestral experience.

  • Spirits In Bondage

    Catalog #: NV6450

    Release Date: August 12, 2022

    21st Century
    Vocal Music
    Piano
    Voice

    Poetry and music have often been described as "beautiful sisters" in the European tradition, and American composer Benjamin C. S. Boyle sets out to prove just how harmonious this kinship can be. Owing to pianist and art song expert Laura Ward as well as to a selection of top-class singers, these elaborate yet easily accessible vocal compositions are resplendently brought to life on SPIRITS IN BONDAGE.

  • Stories Out of Cherry Stems

    Catalog #: NV6424

    Release Date: May 13, 2022

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Cello
    Saxophone
    Voice

    Composer Peter Dayton and Navona Records present STORIES OUT OF CHERRY STEMS, an album of original vocal chamber music with carefully curated texts spanning multiple centuries. Soprano Katie Procell and numerous selected performers navigate a persistent tension between simplicity and complexity delicately threaded throughout the program, providing a solid stage for the texts of notable poets Pablo Neruda, Oscar Wilde, and more. The strengths of vocal and instrumental chamber music merge into a cohesive powerhouse in this recording, brimming with sung stories that compliment Dayton’s compositional style.

  • Suenos De Espana

    Catalog #: NV6211

    Release Date: February 8, 2019

    Romantic
    Vocal Music
    Guitar
    Piano
    Voice

    Soprano Shudong Braamse blends vocal artistry with technical skill in her recording of SUEÑOS DE ESPAÑA. This treasury of Spanish art song relates stories of passionate love, broken promises, and heartfelt prayers. Braamse's performance demonstrates both an understanding of the rich Spanish culture and its 19th-century romantic poetry.

  • Summer & Winter Songs

    Catalog #: NV6236

    Release Date: June 14, 2019

    21st Century
    Vocal Music
    Piano
    Voice

    Hailed by the New York Times as "An interesting composer” and "attractive and tonal" with music described as "a passionate duet “ and "a sprightly songfest,” prolific contemporary composer Mira J. Spektor’s career spans decades, languages, and disciplines. With a compositional repertoire including chamber operas, musicals, film scores, art songs, and cabaret, Spektor has written English, French, and German songs and performed and recorded in the United States, Europe, and Israel. She is also a published poet and brings her wealth of knowledge, experience, and musical passion to her Navona Records debut SUMMER & WINTER SONGS.

  • Summer’s Distillation

    Catalog #: NV6263

    Release Date: January 24, 2020

    21st Century
    Vocal Music
    Voice

    With SUMMER'S DISTILLATION, Joseph Summer, as composer, offers a new look at the timeless texts credited to William Shakespeare. As artistic director, Summer presents settings by Brahms, R. Schumann, and Benjamin Pesetsky, curating an overall impressive collection of works for voice, harp, and horns.

  • Tapestry of Voices

    Catalog #: NV6583

    Release Date: December 1, 2023

    21st Century
    Vocal Music
    Choir
    Piano
    Voice

    TAPESTRY OF VOICES from Navona Records showcases the versatility and elegance of the human voice woven with grand orchestral statements, colorful choral arrangements, and intimate settings with piano. Eight contemporary composers offer settings of poetry and stories from various cultures throughout human history, from Africa to Europe, North America, and beyond. Threading modern takes on Greek mythology, meditations on concepts of loss, morality, and more, TAPESTRY OF VOICES is exactly as its title suggests — an intricate and artistic convergence of ideas that’s sure to entrance those who experience it.