Catalog

Composer and guitarist André M. Santos showcases his chamber works on his debut Ravello Records release SOUNDS OF A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE. Santos wrote each of the pieces featured on the album for fellow musicians and friends, resulting in a kaleidoscope of diverse personalities and styles. To this end, the sounds in his pieces indeed inhabit a different universe—his colorful chamber works bring together unexpected and intriguing combinations of instruments and timbres.

World-renowned clarinetist F. Gerard Errante’s latest Ravello release NEW MUSIC FOR CLARINET … ANOTHER LOOK is a retrospective compilation of avant-garde works previously recorded by Errante in the LP era. These innovative works of the late 20th century, mostly written for or dedicated to Errante, display his wide-ranging mastery and consummate musicality in an idiom that is challenging as well as engaging and compelling.

Works For Electronics & Piano Sidney Bailin composer "I write what is inside me," says Sidney Bailin. "To me, revealing the psyche’s vulnerable parts is the essence of serious art. With each piece I write, I am trying to tell my secrets." On his first Ravello release, 16-2-60-N-5: WORKS [...]

Composer and sound designer Ted Moore presents his Ravello release Gilgamesh & Enkidu, a six-movement interpretation of the ancient Mesopotamian epic poem scored for string quartet and laptop. The work follows the friendship of Gilgamesh and the wild Enkidu, his enemy-turned-friend, as they defy the gods and defeat their beast, Humbaba, in the name of humanity. After the gods murder Enkidu as punishment, Gilgamesh falls into despair and wanders the earth in search of the secret of immortality so he can resurrect his friend. When an empty-handed Gilgamesh returns to his kingdom, he sees that, in his absence, his people have built great monuments in his honor. He realizes that humanity is destined for mortality, and that overcoming adversity is part of the full human experience.

On his Ravello Records release BALANCING ACTS, composer and sound designer Russell Pinkston showcases a selection of his compositions for acoustic instruments and electronic sounds. Most of these pieces combine the two, capitalizing on the absolute precision and unlimited sonic potential of electronic media, while still taking advantage of the spontaneity and expressivity of live performance. Several works feature interactive software written by the composer, which tracks a live performer and generates an electronic accompaniment in real time.

On their seventh Ravello Records release, PLOT: MUSIC FOR UNSPECIFIED INSTRUMENTATION, the McCormick Percussion Group, directed by Robert McCormick, delivers a diverse collection of works that explore and expand the bounds of the percussion ensemble, featuring the use of improvisation, taped field recordings, and computer-generated graphical scores.

The profound events of our lives, including death, birth, trauma, and wonder, often provoke experiences that transcend words, creating moments better suited to the encapsulating depths of silence. Inspired by insights and personal stories, Ravello Records presents the theatrical work for soprano and electronic sound, SHE LOST HER VOICE, THAT’S HOW WE KNEW.

On a starry night, we may find ourselves gazing up and contemplating our own place among the stars and galaxies that reside an unfathomable distance away. On his debut Ravello Records release, SELECTED GALAXIES, composer Samuel Pellman immerses listeners on a dreamy journey deep into the encompassing and mysterious universe in which we live. Throughout the album, the composer depicts the ominous and impressive beauty of space through the use of electronic sound generated by the Kyma System, a symbolic sound design program.

As a ferocious wind storm spins up all things in its path, The Tornado Project, conceived by composers Ricardo Climent and Paul Wilson, cuts a path through the repertoire of 21st-century electroacoustic music, presenting a collection of works for flute, clarinet, and computer-generated sound that explore the chaotic beauty of this trio. With performances by two American wind virtuosi - clarinetist Esther Lamneck and flutist Elizabeth McNutt - these works showcase the skills of the musicians, their dynamic relationships with the computer, and the composers' innovative, colorful, and resourceful styles.

Ravello Records is pleased to announce the first installment of its compilation series, VANGUARDS VOL. 1, presenting a deep cross-section of the label's contemporary and eclectic catalog. The album features performances by the London Symphony Orchestra, pianist Kate Boyd, the McCormick Percussion Group, the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, pianist Amy Briggs, the Grammy-nominated Strung Out Trio, and many more in works by contemporary composers such as Alan Beeler, Stefan Poetzsch, Michael Veloso, Lisa Miles, Hubert Howe, Scott Brickman, Alan Schmitz, and others.

Addressing the man who greatly contributed to the theory of our evolutionary ascent, DEAR DARWIN, the second release on Ravello Records by composer Scott Brickman, explores several themes relating to Charles Darwin's studies and interests including birds, love, world travel, and human boundaries. The song-cycle Dear Darwin is set to 26 poems by Kathleen Ellis and arranged as an abecedarium. Many of Ellis' poems discuss observations of nature and human behavior, some proposing questions and others suggesting answers, while Brickman's compositions consider different relationships between the piano and the soprano voice: he places the piano in three different roles in respect to the soprano - as an imitation, as a supplement, and as harmonic support.

THE ETERNAL TAO, a one-act multimedia opera for voices instruments, video, electronics, dancers, and lighting presents the text of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching translated and re-imagined in the context of modern society. Through this opera, which has parallels with traditional opera, but differs from singer-oriented opera in the sense that the vocalists are a part of the ensemble as a whole, composer, director, and choreographer Kyong Mee Choi seeks to have viewers experience a shared moment of seeing ourselves with open eyes and understand our purpose in the world.

FROM MOOG TO MAC is a collection of Deutsch's compositions for and performances on the Moog synthesizer spanning the last 30 years, from works written using the original "portable electronic music studio" to those written on the modern variations. This historic release features developmental tracks tracking the genesis and improvements on the synthesizers, in which Deutsch frequently pushes the boundaries of both musical content and technological innovation.

GODS, DEMONS, AND THE EARTH was originally released in 1995 was lauded as "awesome" (ClassicalNet) and "surreal" (Twentieth Century Music).

THE ELECTRIC PERFORMER was originally released in 1997 was lauded as "awesome" "at times Cageian and Crumbian" (ClassicalNet).

Phillip Schroeder's SONGS OF MY AFFINITIES was originally released in 2003, and was lauded as "gems of the American repertoire" (New Music Connoisseur) and "striking and beautiful" (Sequenza21).

THE MCLEAN MIX: RAINFOREST IMAGES was originally released in 1993 was lauded as "awesome" (ClassicalNet) and "one of the more convincing Fast-West syntheses since Philip Glass's music for Kundun" (Twentieth Century Music).

Bruce Mahin’s TIME CHANTS was originally released in 1995, and was lauded as “a well-constructed essay” by Twentieth Century Music.

CLUSTERS features the computer synthesis-based compositions of New York-based Hubert Howe. Howe, who was one of the first researchers in computer music, uses his vast knowledge of the subject and his studies in sound to create sprawling, atmospheric works that help expose the world of inharmonic partials and nonconventional instruments. Each of his compositions uses the properties of sound in unique ways, leading to carefully crafted and planned soundscapes. Howe’s expertise is reinforced by his accompanying text, which offers detailed explanations of the composition and implementation of each piece.

PHANTASM is a digital release featuring the culmination of Missouri-based composer, saxophonist and audio engineer Eric Honour’s two-year project to blend all of his interests into one entity. Honour received these compositions for saxophone and computer and took them on tour, finally recording the program in studio. The resulting music explores the connections between old and new, ranging from rural folk sounds to experimental microtones and explorations of saxophone technique to physically triggered computer processing.