Hamlet
Catalog #: NV6396
Release Date: April 22, 2022
21st CenturyOperaStage WorksOrchestraVoiceNavona Records presents HAMLET from Joseph Summer. In this installment of the Shakespeare Concert Series, composer Joseph Summer brings us along to Elsinore with The Bard’s classic play in an all new setting complete with the lyric integrity of Shakespeare’s words in a contemporary musical arrangement. Performed by Bulgaria’s State Opera Ruse orchestra, choir, and selected Bulgarian soloists with nine international soloists singing the lead roles, the celebrated revenge tragedy bursts with a new modern flair while keeping the spirit and riveting narrative of the original alive.
Joys Abiding
Catalog #: NV6409
Release Date: February 11, 2022
20th CenturyRomanticVocal MusicPianoVoiceNavona Records presents JOYS ABIDING, an album of vocal duets by female composers including previously unpublished duets by British-American composer Rebecca Clarke, the text of which inspired the album title. The extensive track list of duets from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods is performed by Dana Zenobi, soprano, Oliver Worthington, baritone, Chuck Dillard, piano/harpsichord, and David Murray, double bass. JOYS ABIDING aims to elevate the important work of female composers who have historically been excluded from the male-dominated classical duet canon.
Lord, How Come Me Here?
Catalog #: NV6408
Release Date: February 11, 2022
21st CenturyFolk MusicLiturgicalVocal MusicPianoVoiceOn LORD, HOW COME ME HERE?, composer Shawn Okpebholo turns the mirror of history on today’s society with his own work and a reimagined collection of spirituals by enslaved Africans and American folk hymns that draws upon music from the past to critique contemporary racial injustices in the United States and around the globe. An ensemble of mezzo-soprano (J’Nai Bridges), baritone (Will Liverman), piano (Paul Sánchez), cello, and flute poignantly bring Okpebholo’s music to life, from hopeful anthems celebrating community to laments between a mother and her Creator and hymns celebrating faith and hope over hate and fear.
Soul Sanctuary
Catalog #: NV6406
Release Date: February 4, 2022
21st CenturyFolk MusicLiturgicalVocal MusicCelloPianoVoiceSoprano 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.
A Song For Silenced Voices
Catalog #: NV6405
Release Date: February 4, 2022
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoString QuartetVoiceNew York City native Michael Cohen surprises with a formidable cross section of his oeuvre, the splendidly and mysteriously named A SONG FOR SILENCED VOICES. Narrowly skirting traditional notions of (a)tonality, this selection of works leaps to and fro between collected serenity and impassioned melodicism. The setups are as diverse as the music: A SONG FOR SILENCED VOICES includes a string quartet, an excerpt of Cohen's opera Rappaccini's Daughter, a Prelude for Piano, a chamber/vocal work titled I Remember based on works from his musical Yours, Anne, as well as the album's namesake piece, which happens to be not a song, but a duo for cello and piano.
Rumpelstiltskin
Catalog #: NV6390
Release Date: January 14, 2022
21st CenturyOperaStage WorksCelloViolinVoiceEverybody knows Rumpelstiltskin’s name, but what if there’s more to his story? On RUMPELSTILTSKIN, composer Marti Epstein reimagines the classic fairy tale as a sympathetic opera, transforming the titular character into a tragic figure to propose that villains are made, rather than born. Guerilla Opera, conducted by Jeffrey Means, brings the alternate version to life across six scenes, deftly conveying the emotions and motivations of each character as they interpret Epstein’s carefully crafted soundscapes of shifting harmonic palettes and interweaving rhythmic pulses.
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.
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.
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.
Psalms
Catalog #: NV6354
Release Date: July 23, 2021
21st CenturyChamberLiturgicalVocal MusicFlutePianoVoiceOne 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.
Words Adorned
Catalog #: NV6356
Release Date: July 9, 2021
21st CenturyVocal MusicVoiceThe Grammy-winning professional chamber choir The Crossing, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, and Navona Records present WORDS ADORNED. Conducted by Donald Nally, with Takht musical direction by Hanna Khoury, the combined forces interpret lush scores from Kinan Abou-afach and Kareem Roustom; the music is at times driven and passionate, at others mystical and lyrical, responding to ancient Andalusian poetry in the Muwashshah tradition. The takht – masterfully handling the oud, qanun, violin, cello, and percussion – guides the kaleidoscopic sounds and colors in these poems of love, revelry, and war, with additional solo work by the virtuosic singer Dalal Abu Amneh. True to their commitment to honor tradition while constantly blazing new ground, The Crossing’s latest offering is steeped in history, deeply relevant to modern listeners, and bridges cultures seamlessly.
Old & New Poetry
Catalog #: NV6342
Release Date: June 11, 2021
21st CenturyVocal MusicClarinetSaxophoneVoiceCarl 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.
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.
The Priestess of Morphine
Catalog #: NV6343
Release Date: March 12, 2021
21st CenturyOperaCelloViolinVoiceOn THE PRIESTESS OF MORPHINE, composer Rosśa Crean and librettist Aiden K. Feltkamp create a beautifully haunting portrait of a Gertrud Günther, a young Jewish lesbian caught between her two selves during the Third Reich, who bravely sought her inner truth and passions while forced to live in the shadows.
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.
Tristan Und Isolde
Catalog #: NV6321
Release Date: November 20, 2020
RomanticOperaStage WorksOrchestraVoiceThe Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava stuns with a new recording of Richard Wagner's three-act opera TRISTAN AND ISOLDE. Skillfully conducted by German conductor Robert Reimer, this new, vibrant performance is likely to claim its place as one of the reference recordings of Wagner's innovative work.
Mortal Dreams
Catalog #: NV6313
Release Date: October 23, 2020
20th Century21st CenturyVocal MusicElectronicPianoVoiceUruguayan-born American Sergio Cervetti is sure to please listeners with MORTAL DREAMS, his ninth album with NAVONA. Cervetti, who, on previous releases, has firmly established himself as one of the most unique voices in contemporary serious music, again delivers electro-acoustic compositions that can be counted as some of his best in the genre.
Window Panes
Catalog #: NV6304
Release Date: August 14, 2020
21st CenturyOrchestralSolo InstrumentalOrchestraPianoVoiceNavona presents WINDOW PANES, a cross section of works by compositional veteran Elizabeth R. Austin. The collection is the first to comprise a lifetime of the American's works into one album: and as the title insinuates, it is an album full of interwoven associations, subconscious reminiscences and intense melodic reflections, with decades of labor condensed into an hour of listening.
Cantilena
Catalog #: NV6293
Release Date: June 26, 2020
20th CenturyRomanticChamberVocal MusicCelloVoiceSince the late 18th century, art songs have combined poetic vocals and equally intricate instrumental accompaniments to delight listeners with intimate compositions across the globe. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Trio’s CANTILENA spans the centuries and continents to highlight the form’s enduring appeal.
Spirit of Humanity
Catalog #: NV6292
Release Date: June 26, 2020
21st CenturyOrchestralVocal MusicChoirOrchestraVoiceA 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.