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.
Transparent Boundaries
Catalog #: NV6290
Release Date: June 12, 2020
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicCelloPianoVoiceFor centuries, writers have documented the awe brought about by the pristine wilderness and untamed expanses of the American Midwest and West. Three authors in particular—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson—beautifully documented the boundless optimism and sense of opportunity that the country’s vast natural resources inspired and heralded a new era of American thought.
Music to Hear
Catalog #: NV6283
Release Date: May 22, 2020
21st CenturyVocal MusicString QuartetVoiceMUSIC TO HEAR, Joseph Summer’s follow up to WHO IS SYLVIA from Navona Records off his Shakespeare Concerts set, is the result of the composer’s lifelong obsession with poetry. The album pairs the works of contemporary poets as well as Shakespeare with Summer’s music in order to express deeper significance than either words or music are capable of on their own.
Ignacio Jerusalem
Catalog #: NV6274
Release Date: May 22, 2020
BaroqueLiturgicalOrchestralVocal MusicOrchestraVoiceLovers of Early Music are in for a huge treat with IGNACIO JERUSALEM: MASS IN G, a tribute commemorating the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. The little-known, Italian-born, galant creator, who spent much of his colorful life in Mexico, receives long-deserved attention from the Chicago Arts Orchestra under the baton of Mexican-American conductor Javier José Mendoza.
Who is Sylvia
Catalog #: NV6282
Release Date: May 8, 2020
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoString QuartetVoiceJoseph Summer’s WHO IS SYLVIA, new from Navona Records, is a collection of Shakespeare’s works set to music that will make you question everything you thought you learned in high school English. Summer believes that the famous playwright’s true identity is not William Shakespeare but rather Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. Many of the songs found on WHO IS SYLVIA come from Summer’s aptly-named The Oxford Songs, a collection of scenes, sonnets, songs, and Summer’s original opera version of Hamlet. These are paired with music from the likes of Schubert and Schumann to create a dynamic and colorful musical experience worthy of the Bard himself.
Quotation of Queries
Catalog #: NV6278
Release Date: April 10, 2020
21st CenturyVocal MusicVoiceFresh 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.
Through Time and Place
Catalog #: NV6273
Release Date: March 13, 2020
20th Century21st CenturyOrchestralOrchestraVoicePARMA is proud to present THROUGH TIME AND PLACE, an ambitious cross-section of James Lentini's extensive catalog. The award-winning guitarist and composer impresses with massive tonal landscapes which can be considered exemplary in contemporary American serious music. THROUGH TIME AND PLACE's title is aptly chosen: the album contains a collection of previously unreleased recordings made over the course of Lentini's long career.
Summer’s Distillation
Catalog #: NV6263
Release Date: January 24, 2020
21st CenturyVocal MusicVoiceWith 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.
Maternity / Ulysses, Home
Catalog #: NV6258
Release Date: November 15, 2019
21st CenturyVocal MusicOrchestraString QuartetVoiceMulti-award-winning composer Anthony Brandt makes his Navona Records debut with MATERNITY / ULYSSES, HOME. The album includes two very distinct compositions with equally distinct inspirations.
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.
Dimensions Vol. 2
Catalog #: NV6251
Release Date: October 11, 2019
21st CenturyOrchestralGuitarOrchestraVoiceBeginning as a single spark of inspiration, the orchestral work blossoms into something transcendentally grand and organically rich. DIMENSIONS VOL 2, the second in Navona Records’ series for orchestra, presents five organically inspired compositions, with music that is as multidimensional and richly textured as the subject matter is multifaceted. Traverse through each unique work and witness what vast results can be drawn from the creative mind.
Tangos… & Something More
Catalog #: NV6246
Release Date: August 9, 2019
21st CenturyChamberCelloPianoVoiceAlicia Terzian is a world-recognized, award-winning composer, conductor, and musicologist. She is on the faculty of the Fine Arts Academy of Chile and Spain and is the conductor of Grupo Encuentros, the official group of the International Encounters for Contemporary Music Foundation and the only permanent group in Latin America.
Preach Sister, Preach
Catalog #: NV6244
Release Date: August 9, 2019
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoVoicePREACH 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.
Summer & Winter Songs
Catalog #: NV6236
Release Date: June 14, 2019
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoVoiceHailed 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.
One-Eleven Heavy
Catalog #: NV6226
Release Date: May 24, 2019
21st CenturyOperaLarge EnsembleVoiceOn September 2, 1998, 229 passengers and crew members lost their lives when Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Nova Scotia. Composer Matt Frey, who identified with the Swissair tragedy due to his own brush with a plane malfunction, explores the human relationship to air travel while also commemorating the lives lost in the chamber opera ONE-ELEVEN HEAVY.
Suenos De Espana
Catalog #: NV6211
Release Date: February 8, 2019
RomanticVocal MusicGuitarPianoVoiceSoprano 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.
The Mask in the Mirror
Catalog #: NV6209
Release Date: February 8, 2019
21st CenturyOperaPianoVoiceComposer Richard Thompson’s three-act opera presents the life behind the name of Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the most prominent African American poets of the early 20th Century. This dramatic performance, inspired by the hundreds of letters exchanged between Dunbar and his wife, Alice Ruth Moore, removes the masks of fame and social identity to investigate the psychological realities of the people underneath.
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.
Whispers of Heavenly Death
Catalog #: NV6198
Release Date: November 9, 2018
21st CenturyVocal MusicPianoVoiceFirst up in this compelling collection is a selection of Walt Whitman's oeuvre, including the work that inspired the album's title, which Perkins' music hauntingly elucidates as the lament of a soul hovering on the brink between life and death. Intriguingly, the composer preserves the mood for the Holy Sonnets by John Donne, a Petrarch-style, English Renaissance collection of sonnets auguring the later Baroque period's preoccupation with the contrast between carnality and mortality.