Tendrils
Catalog #: NV5833
Release Date: August 1, 2010
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPiano TrioThe compositions of Byron Petty, Peter Homans, and Robert Stewart draw from a wide variety of influences, from Haydn to the Second Viennese School and Brahms to Stravinsky. Tendrils showcases the influences and skills of these three composers and highlights their ability to remain classical while utilizing modern concepts such as rotation, continuous development, and lyricism.
It Is Time
Catalog #: NV5845
Release Date: March 1, 2011
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirIT IS TIME features the compositions of David Shapiro, Kile Smith, Paul Fowler, Frank Havroy, Erhard Karkoschka and Kristen Broberg based on the German-language poetry of Romanian poet Paul Celan. Celan's words are largely open to interpretation and lend themselves to musical adaptations; the composers on this disc adapt the words well, and vocal ensemble The Crossing, under conductor Donald Nally, performs them beautifully.
Devisadero
Catalog #: NV5849
Release Date: May 1, 2011
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceWind EnsembleDEVISADERO features the original compositions of New Mexico-based composer Christopher Shultis. Through woodwinds, percussion and piano, Shultis is able to vividly describe the New Mexican wilderness and the significance of its beauty. Shultis' compositions invite the listener to experience not only the sound of the music, but what we see and think, and especially, how we breathe, as well.
Raspberry Man
Catalog #: NV5857
Release Date: August 1, 2011
21st CenturyStage WorksVocal MusicLarge EnsembleRASPBERRY MAN is an Enhanced EP featuring two works for narrator and instrumental ensemble by composer William Vollinger. The first, Raspberry Man, draws its inspiration from a man who made a loud raspberry noise at passersby outside a bar in New York. The second, Emmanuel Changed, draws from the change Vollinger witnessed in a troublesome chorus student.
Night of Light
Catalog #: NV5866
Release Date: April 1, 2012
21st CenturyOrchestralVocal MusicString OrchestraVoiceNIGHT OF LIGHT is the latest CD from Cypriot composer Sophia Serghi featuring five of her works for orchestra and voice: Night of Light, a musical reaction to Easter in Manhattan and a document of the composer's spiritual growth; Serghi's earliest work for orchestra and voice, Cantus Integritatis, comprised of four introspective and meditative movements based on the composer's own Latin poetry; Full Moon Haiku, a collaboration with poet Nancy Schoenberger setting the mensal characteristics of the full moon to music; Ikon, inspired by an unusual Ikon in Paris; and Night of Light: Reprise.
Polyhymnia
Catalog #: NV5867
Release Date: February 1, 2012
21st CenturyOrchestralVocal MusicChoirOrchestraString OrchestraWith works described as "an inspired creation" (Music & Vision), "original and quite brilliant" (Fanfare), and "immensely poetic" (Tempo), Jonathan Little has planted himself as a luminary contemporary composer. On POLYHYMNIA, his first release on Navona Records, Little is able to transform traditional influences into rich, intense, and finely structured music that lives up to his reputation.
Seeking & Finding
Catalog #: NV5877
Release Date: August 1, 2012
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirNatural beauty, emotion, and enlightenment. These are but a few of the common threads of SEEKING & FINDING, an album of choral works by two composers whose pointed explorations of humanity resonate in perfect pitch.
Awakenings
Catalog #: NV5878
Release Date: July 1, 2012
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirLarge EnsembleNavona Records is proud to present the debut commercial release from the critically acclaimed Coro Allegro, Boston's chorus for members and friends of the LGBT community. This album, AWAKENINGS, features two extraordinary works by composers from the Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts: Shofar by Robert Stern, an intensely dramatic and deeply moving oratorio inspired by the four arresting calls of the shofar; and Why I Wake Early by Ronald Perera, with text drawn from the poetry of Mary Oliver.
Kleemation
Catalog #: NV5884
Release Date: October 1, 2012
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicFlutePianoVoiceKLEEMATION AND OTHER WORKS is the debut Navona release from Rockport-based composer Elizabeth Vercoe, featuring six of the composer's works for small ensemble and solo instruments. The title piece, Kleemation for flute and piano, draws its inspiration from five drawings by Swiss artist Paul Klee. Through her expertly crafted music, Vercoe effectively captures the moods and styles of the visual elements from which she works, ranging from wry humor to anxiety about the state of our world.
In Paradisum
Catalog #: NV5890
Release Date: October 1, 2012
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirIN PARADISUM is the second Navona release from Coro Allegro, Boston's chorus for members and friends of the LGBT community. This album features two works from acclaimed composer Patricia Van Ness: Requiem, a personal, intimate ritual of consolation reinforcing the presence of divine love; and The Voice of the Tenth Muse, a large, dramatic work based on the texts of Sappho.
Shakespeare’s Memory
Catalog #: NV5899
Release Date: January 1, 2013
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceSHAKESPEARE'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.
Voices Of Earth And Air
Catalog #: NV5923
Release Date: July 30, 2013
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirThe poet has long been considered a vehicle for expressing human thought and emotion through literary device, setting the seemingly indescribable to text, offering direction to the enamored and forlorn alike. The human voice adds a new element to the text, providing an additional level of complexity and expressiveness.
The Fair Ophelia
Catalog #: NV5935
Release Date: November 1, 2013
21st CenturyStage WorksVocal MusicPianoVoiceTHE FAIR OPHELIA, the second installment on Navona Records' The Shakespeare Concerts Series, features works by composer Joseph Summer that are inspired by Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark! With Shakespeare's texts accompanied with music by Brahms, Strauss, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, and Joseph Summer, this album for vocal and chamber music consists of diverse settings that present the listener with an opportunity to hear Ophelia in a three dimensional perspective. Summer's works have been described as "[varying] in mood and compositional technique from piece to piece, but always beautifully expressive and deeply emotional" (Shakespeare Matters).
Four Quartets of Songs & Arias
Catalog #: NV5936
Release Date: November 1, 2013
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceFOUR QUARTETS OF SONGS & ARIAS, the debut Navona release by composer Roger Bourland, takes us on a touching journey by way of works for voice (Juliana Gondek) and piano (William Lumpkin). The album features four song cycles, each a four song set depicting a range of emotion and feeling.
Foundations
Catalog #: NV5939
Release Date: February 1, 2014
21st CenturyLiturgicalOrchestralVocal MusicChoirOrchestraExcerpts from the Bible, text from the Middle Ages, and traditional instrumentation (organ, orchestral, and choral) form the basis of six composers' inspired works on FOUNDATIONS to create stirring, new contemporary classical music. By connecting to the roots of historical texts and musical conventions - in some cases the foundations of our collective cultures - these pieces present a modern spin on traditional materials, sounds, and forms.
Tetrahedron Dreams
Catalog #: NV5947
Release Date: April 1, 2014
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalVocal MusicChoirPianoDrawing from a diverse set of genres and stylistic sources including atonal, folk, chant, dance, and more, Alexandra Ottaway's solo Navona Records debut TETRAHEDRON DREAMS presents a singular and striking listening experience.
Brass Rail Blues
Catalog #: NV5953
Release Date: May 1, 2014
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicClarinetPianoVoiceOn her second release on Navona Records, BRASS RAIL BLUES, Canadian composer and oboist Patricia Morehead showcases her ability to incorporate varying instrumentation into her compositions, from mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble; to flute and piano; to mandolin, cello, and clarinet. Because of this variety, the composer creates a world of imagery, setting poems by such writers as Margaret Atwood, Anne Sexton, and Cathy Ann Elias in several of her pieces.
Goddesses
Catalog #: NV5973
Release Date: October 14, 2014
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicVoiceGODDESSES is the third offering in Navona Records' The Shakespeare Concerts Series, which presents several works by composer Joseph Summer from his collection of settings of Shakespearean scenes, sonnets, and soliloquies, Oxford Songs.
Moonstrung Air
Catalog #: NV5989
Release Date: February 10, 2015
21st CenturyVocal MusicChoirThe human voice: A forceful yet delicate instrument. The weight of its expression can be as heavy as a ringing bell or as light as the whisper of an autumn breeze. Composer Gregory W. Brown presents a collection of his vocal and choral works on the Navona Records release MOONSTRUNG AIR, capturing the wonder of the human voice as our rooted connection with nature.