Catalog

On CENTER CHAMBER, wind, string, and keyboard instrumentalists come together to perform a collection of original and intimate compositions that include the saxophone — particularly Paul Cohen’s conn-o-sax, a rare and long forgotten instrument given new life in contemporary works. The conn-o-sax brings a dark, contemplative quality and infuses a unique tonal and musical spirit to these often lively, brooding, and captivating works. The engaging and brilliant intimacy of the playing eloquently reveals the unique emotional and musical bonds that tie together these exceptional artists. Listeners will undoubtedly agree: CENTER CHAMBER offers a listening experience as special and engaging as the instrument it features.

While it isn't entirely unusual for musicians to raise musical children, it is fairly rare for a composer to have not one, but two sons who also compose. This is the case for composition professor Alan Schmitz, who, together with his sons Christopher and Eric, presents of ACE COMPOSERS II, a curated selection of contemporary chamber music which proves that the apple sometimes does fall further from the tree, at least in some regards. It would be impossible to mistake either one's works for that of any of the others: too distinct are the individual idiosyncrasies – the swooping, late-Romantic phrases, the sober, experimental minimalism, and the jazzy groove. Nevertheless, they are all united by one commonality – aesthetic appeal seems to run in the family.

Pianist Anne Goldberg and Ravello Records are proud to present PERMUTATIONS, an album highlighting Goldbergs qualities as an interdisciplinary artist. An educator, composer, and cross-disciplinary researcher, Goldberg’s artistry crosses boundaries and permeates her work as a musician with a deep-seated passion for promoting, premiering, and interpreting new music by living composers. Each piece on PERMUTATIONS was written by dear friends of the composer who explore different facets of the human experience. From deeply meditative music to tonally and rhythmically complex miniatures, each piece offers a new realm in which to get lost.

Ravello Records is proud to present AMERICAN CARNAGE, an album of chamber music by composer Ken Walicki. Well traveled and well versed in an array of different genres, Walicki shares numerous personal experiences and influences in these pieces, from blissful moments of natural beauty to musical reflections on his formative years and beyond. Masterfully performed by members of the Los Angeles-based Divan Consort, AMERICAN CARNAGE offers exuberance and zest from start to finish, a satisfying and equally authentic listening experience.

At times meditative, at times sparklingly abstract, 5X4 is an album of contrasts. Composer Lawrence Axelrod offers a multi-faceted selection of original compositions which push the limits of musical craft – all contained within the quartet setup, but in varying instrumentations. The range begins with the eternal classic, the string quartet, progresses to a less-orthodox quartet of flute, clarinet, violoncello, and piano, escalates to an otherworldly ensemble of percussion, and finally culminates with a hypnotic double bass quartet. Axelrod's 5X4 is carefully conceptualized and altogether well-wrought; often contemplative, and always original.

Martin Daigle skillfully unearths the melodic qualities of the drumset on DRUM MACHINES from Ravello Records, an album featuring the works of composers Pierre Alexandre Tremblay and Sylvain Pohu. Daigle, the 2022 winner of Music NB’s “Innovator of the Year” award, performs two solo pieces that feature innovative applications of technology in this release, producing unique timbres through electronic augmentations of the drumset. These unique flavors paired with Daigle’s adept musicality and inventive grooves make for a one-of-a-kind listening experience that’s sure to stir the senses.

Whim Ensemble musically explores Dutch painter Piet Mondrian’s artistic abstractions of nature on TREES from Ravello Records. Employing the skills of prepared-piano player Ofer Pelz, percussionist Preston Beebe, and double-bassist Stéphane Diamantakiou, the ensemble combines their years of experience as composers and performers to unearth new textures and timbres for their instruments. The resulting album effuses influences of free jazz, contemporary experimental music, and more to foster a unique take on Mondrian’s creative process and influential artistic output.

On the coasts of the Atlantic, sparrows whistle atop the trees, Eastern winds whisper through spartina grasses, and fiddler crabs skitter within their sandy burrows — a great symphony of shorelines soon to be left incomplete. As rising sea levels continue to threaten coastal reefs, shores, and the hundreds of lifeforms inhabiting them, the Coastal Conservatory urges us to consider our efforts of restoration and offers us an avenue for restoring coastal futures, a meditation on the music of the most integral barriers to the ever-pressing Atlantic. SOUNDSCAPES OF RESTORATION is both an exploration and a reflection, a listening experience that leaves one changed with the desire to make change further. It is a journey that cannot, and should not, be forgotten.

The critically-acclaimed MIND & MACHINE series from Ravello Records returns with its fifth edition with an all-new roster of today’s electro-acoustic composers. This installment taps into and unpacks the foundations of our universe, from the hidden corners of our psyche to the fibers that hold our world together. Offering meditative reflections on the ephemeral moments in our lives and exploring resemblances between music and scientific concepts, MIND & MACHINE, VOLUME FIVE delivers a sprawling artistic soundscape that allows for deep introspection and self-discovery.

On ROOT, classical saxophonist and music theorist Jessica Dodge-Overstreet harnesses the ethereal, almost-vocal timbre of the soprano saxophone. Accompanied only by pianist Wan-Ting Yu, Dodge-Overstreet performs music written by a culturally-diverse cast of female composers including Ika Peyron, Germaine Tailleferre, Dora Pejačević, and Teresa Milanollo. From the technically demanding Sonate Slave, with its stratospheric leaps high into the instrument’s uppermost register, to the playful Variations Humouristiques sur l’air de Marlborough for violin and piano which sets the popular folk tune Bear Went Over the Mountain, Dodge-Overstreet brings this versatile and too-often overlooked instrument into the limelight.

If you crave a deep dive into a new and exciting solar system of starry digital soundscapes, Jeffrey Hall’s EARMOVIE II is certain to take you on an interstellar ride. This digitally synthesized album is described by its composer as “the musical equivalent of science fiction,” and delivers in all aspects. Hall likes his listeners to think of his compositions as an EARMOVIE — a soundtrack to an imaginary film inside your head. In this way, Hall opens up the door for the listener to build their own understanding of EARMOVIE II; the titles of its movements are only a guideline to the experience; what the music truly evokes and tells is entirely up to you.

CYCLES OF FORMATION from John Ritz presents varying degrees of prescribed musical material and open-form elements. Each piece explores the potential interactions between human performance and interactive computer signal processing algorithms within a particular musical context. Featuring jazz pianist Gabe Evens, and classical percussionist Greg Byrne, and Ritz himself as the album’s composer, cellist, and analog synthesist, this Ravello Records release delivers a stimulating world of electroacoustic sound, a smooth blend of suspense and innovation.

Montréal percussionist David Therrien Brongo dexterously creates dynamic musical worlds on CONFLUENCE, a highly melodic album of solo percussion compositions by French Canadian contemporary composers. Both meditative and stimulating, the album makes for an impressive demonstration of the possibilities of this rare genre. Brongo's world-class performance is not only highly virtuosic in the technical sense, but also emotionally rich, nuanced, and deeply saturated with empathy. There is a zen-like quality to his interpretations, in which the silences are given as much gravitas as the sound around them, and both notes and rests are searing with constant energy. It's a remarkable approach, and instantly recognizable.

Saxophonist Jeffrey Siegfried explores new possibilities for his instrument's dynamic and versatile voice on SHADES from Ravello Records. The title work, Shades, composed by Sean Friar, is a dark and capricious piece, pairing bursts of musical complexity with unsettling stillness. The album also includes Candlewood by Gala Flagello and water-witching by Nicholas Cline, and and Homage to C.P. by Joan Arnau Pàmies, all of which were composed specifically for Siegfried.. The works are inspired by the natural and supernatural worlds; Siegfried aims to express the ineffable through saxophone techniques like multiphonics, which require careful control of the embouchure, fingering, and air-pressure. The resulting music is hauntingly beautiful and deeply compelling.

ASHES TO IMPULSE is an extroverted, highly expressive album of redemption and realization, where harmonies become metaphors and dissonance transforms into catharsis. Conceived by Berklee music professor Gregory T. Glancey, these compositions delve into the core of human struggle, mirroring the very process of creation – a journey from the ashes of doubt to the ignition of artistic impulse. A glimpse into Glancey's labyrinthine mind, ASHES TO IMPULSE unearths emotions as if from a hidden wellspring. These are all chamber music pieces, but they are almost symphonic in their profundity. As a flicker becomes a flame, these musical landscapes transcend with unbridled energy and fiery candor.

Korean-born Hee Yun Kim returns with a compelling selection of works that reflect her unwavering curiosity about social justice, Eastern philosophy, and transformative change at large on VOYAGE WITHIN. This Navona Records release is first and foremost a journey into the self, and only second a musical exploration. Kim adeptly weaves her insights into profound and harmonious compositions, capturing the essence of her experiences and contemplations. The resulting music is both introspective and reflective, with a foresight and precision that’s almost scientific in nature.

WHAT SHE SAW features two epic, large-scale works from composer Douglas Anderson. These gripping vocal works focus on the lives of two archetypal women: Cassandra of ancient Greece and The Woman of modern times. The first work, Cassandra Songs, tells the story of a Trojan priestess gifted with the power of prophecy but cursed to never be believed. The 11 songs that comprise this first work depict the arc of her tragic struggle. THROUGH/IN, the second major work on the album, is a one-woman chamber opera in which the modern Woman confronts herself through the looking glass. With words by Andrew Joffe, WHAT SHE SAW is a dramatic tour-de-force.

Indianapolis saxophonist Cecily Terhune dives headfirst into an exploration of heroism on her genre-defying debut album BOON BESTOWED. Harnessing the principles laid out in Joseph Campbell's seminal theory of mythology, Terhune creates a captivating, musical microcosm in which the listener is invited to take center stage as the audacious protagonist. The theory goes as follows: Most myths in human history have an archetypal heroine/hero who answers a call to journey through a supernatural world. After undergoing a transformation of strength and character, the heroine returns equipped with material and/or incorporeal boons to bestow upon her community. Marveling at the highly diverse and exquisite mastery of the saxophone on BOON BESTOWED, one is apt to wonder what supernatural landscapes Terhune might have traversed herself.

Owing to the collaboration and performance of hundreds of students, faculty, and staff collaborators, the Penn’s Woods Festival Orchestra, the University of Maryland Wind Orchestra, and the Penn State University Wind Ensemble perform alongside Lee Hinkle to acclaim the percussion concerti of three modern American composers. Hinkle meets the evolving modal complexity of Maurice Wright’s Concertpiece for Marimba and Orchestra with the same central drumset vivacity that breathes life into Evan Ziporyn’s Impulse Control, while still saving space for the solemn anthem layered in the rich solo instrumentation of Steven Stucky’s Concerto for Percussion and Wind Orchestra. Whether on marimba, drumset, or any percussive tool between, Hinkle shines solo in the seven-year cumulation of a monumental musical undertaking, coming together as MODERN AMERICAN PERCUSSION CONCERTI.

Contemporary music is often difficult to access, both for audiences and performing musicians, and doubly so if it involves unorthodox musical setups. Paul Cohen, leader of the TTF Saxophone Quartet, is here to challenge this conundrum. DANCES AND DECLAMATIONS compiles a treasure trove of saxophone quartets that are a pleasure to play — and to experience. This eclectic collection includes modern, minimalist constructions, Brucknerian soundscapes, waltzes, fugues, and not least Cohen's own arrangements of Renaissance dances. Each of the pieces on DANCES AND DECLAMATIONS are imbued with genuine cheer, liveliness, and appeal. It's music that speaks to the mind, yes, but even more importantly, puts a spring in your step.