Moto Finale
Catalog #: NV6388
Release Date: December 10, 2021
21st CenturyChamberPiano TrioMOTO FINALE brings the beloved chamber music series to a close with a number of works inspired by nature, loss, spiritual connection, and music of the past. The seasoned Trio Casals returns for this seventh and final installment to perform the works of seven composers in a diverse and conclusive capstone of modern composition. A fitting album to end the series, MOTO FINALE rewards the attention of listeners as it leads them on a journey of interweaving experiences. Trauma and chaos mingle with tranquility, nostalgia, melancholy, and hope, painting a broad emotional landscape.
Windpower
Catalog #: NV6404
Release Date: December 10, 2021
21st CenturyChamberSaxophoneWINDPOWER from composer Eric Biddington highlights the versatility of the saxophone through the proficiency and musicality of the players, the Saxcess Quartet, in a collection of 11 original works. With multiple orchestrations and movements spanning 34 tracks, Biddington’s compositions are on full display with works for solo saxophone as well as sax trio and quartet. From tender and emotional to lush and energetic, Biddington’s compositions explore every nook and cranny of musical possibility. The dextrous and emotive performance by the Saxcess Quartet unites the pieces into a whole, providing a pleasing continuity throughout the varied arrangements and orchestrations.
Scenes From A Life
Catalog #: NV6386
Release Date: November 12, 2021
21st CenturyChamberPercussionPianoHot on the heels of her first Navona Records release, award winning composer Monika Gurak keeps the fire burning with SCENES FROM A LIFE, an album of original and personalized works for piano and vibraphone. Infused with wit and whimsy, Gurak’s 15 Humoresques deliver a lighthearted quality to the album’s first half, featuring pianists Scott Downing and Emma Collette Moss with vibraphonist Michael Davidson.
Crossroads
Catalog #: NV6380
Release Date: November 12, 2021
21st CenturyChamberPianoViolinTrue to their name, Duo Dramatique delights audiences with fierce and thoughtful performances of genre-bending programs with an undercurrent of social and emotional issues. On CROSSROADS, violinist Dominika Dancewicz and pianist Donald Doucet perform three original works written to highlight their style and talents. Arthur Gottschalk’s Sonata for Violin and Piano pays homage to great jazz violinists of the 20th century, with echoes of “Bluesette” and “When Sunny Gets Blue.” Karl Blench’s Sonata “In D” For Violin and Piano traverses distinct moods, using music to depict sarcasm, humor, and quiet serenity. Erberk Eryilmaz’s Insistent Music draws inspiration from Eastern European folk music to close out the album with percussive patterns and bursting melodic lines.
High Voltage Chamber Music
Catalog #: NV6366
Release Date: September 24, 2021
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetWind EnsembleNavona Records proudly presents HIGH VOLTAGE CHAMBER MUSIC, the latest album from composer Jan Järvlepp. Following close on the heels of CONCERTO 2000 and FLIGHTS OF FANCY, Järvlepp carries forward the momentum with this newest release. Featured on the album is String Quartet No. 1, the composer’s first full-length string quartet—an important milestone for any composer.
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.
Pinnacle Vol. 2
Catalog #: NV6368
Release Date: September 24, 2021
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalClarinetPianoString QuartetNavona Records presents PINNACLE VOL. 2, a collection of contemporary chamber works by composers John A. Carollo, Edmund Cionek, Sarah Wallin Huff, Santiago Kodela, Adnan Marafi, Amintas Silva, Joseph T. Spaniola, and Kong-Yu Wong, that highlight the melodic, emotive, and dramatic styles offered by today’s chamber music. Throughout the album, the composers explore the cyclicity of life and nature.
A Grand Journey
Catalog #: NV6367
Release Date: September 10, 2021
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoPiano TrioInspired by traditional melodies and cultural flavors, A GRAND JOURNEY gives us contemporary chamber works by Richard E Brown, Ovidiu Marinescu, and Mark G. Simon. Performed by internationally acclaimed Trio Casals, these distinct works immerse listeners in varying motifs drawn from diverse cultures, simulating a journey of melodic Korean folk patterns, Greek mythological icons, Irish fiddling, tango, and sensations garnered from the Black Sea and English countryside.
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.
Division of Memory
Catalog #: NV6373
Release Date: October 8, 2021
21st CenturyChamberCelloPianoNavona Records presents DIVISION OF MEMORY, a comprehensive collection featuring a variety of sound production methods displayed on the cello by Thomas Mesa. The works of composers Lydia Jane Pugh, George Holloway, Ben Yee-Paulson, Jonathan Chenette, and Elizabeth Start are featured on this album, each with their own compositional personality and a repertoire dedicated to the multifaceted soundscape of the cello.
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.
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.
Transfiguration
Catalog #: NV6355
Release Date: July 23, 2021
21st CenturyChamberViolaFrom online performances to benefit albums, musicians kept their art alive throughout the most dire days of the coronavirus pandemic. Among them are composer Stanley Grill and violist Brett Deubner, who collaborated via remote recording sessions to transform Grill’s multi-instrumental chamber pieces into an intimate collection of multilayered works for viola. The resulting album, TRANSFIGURATION, showcases a singular connection between composer and performer.
Sound & Light
Catalog #: NV6339
Release Date: March 26, 2021
21st CenturyChamberBrass EnsemblePianoOn SOUND AND LIGHT, Demondrae Thurman wields the euphonium to further expand its repertoire and cement its graceful power into the minds of composers of solos and orchestral works alike. Playing works written by five close friends, Thurman wholly dedicates himself to unlocking the musical mysteries of every measure and fully exploring the instrument’s potential.
Moto Eterno
Catalog #: NV6341
Release Date: March 26, 2021
21st CenturyChamberPiano TrioTen international composers showcase their respective styles on MOTO ETERNO, the latest installment of NAVONA's successful MOTO chamber music series. Like the previous MOTO releases, MOTO ETERNO is the result of a wide-ranging Call For Scores and a scrupulous selection process. Acclaimed piano trio Trio Casals (Ovidiu Marinescu, cello; Alexandr Kislitsyn, violin; Anna Kislitsyna, piano), masterfully perform their favorite picks.
Mother Earth
Catalog #: NV6351
Release Date: June 25, 2021
21st CenturyChamberPianoViolaMOTHER EARTH, the new album from celebrated violist Brett Deubner with PARMA Recordings, reflects humanity’s search for meaning in the midst of loss and mortal frailty. Born out of the strife of 2020, MOTHER EARTH expresses the angst and hope of this deeply challenging period through the language of music. Chant-like meditations, cathartic outpourings, and even a call to arms for environmental justice are only a few of the themes explored in MOTHER EARTH.
Sustain Vol. 2
Catalog #: NV6345
Release Date: April 23, 2021
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoPiano TrioSaxophoneTwo years after the release of SUSTAIN comes the long-anticipated follow-up, SUSTAIN VOL. 2. This fresh collection of works centered around the piano includes a range of contemporary compositional styles: tonal, atonal, and everything in between. This volume features a new cast of composers and performers, with contributions by Sarah Wallin-Huff, Karen Tarlow, Chen-Hsin Su, Bill Sherrill, Jim Puckett, Ron Nagorcka, Gordon Monahan, Kenneth A. Kuhn, Santiago Kodela, John Craven, and John A. Carollo. The album’s varied soundscapes and arrangements—including solo piano, piano and saxophone, and piano and strings—constantly surprise and delight the ear. A fitting sequel to the first installment, SUSTAIN VOL. 2 is steeped in the dynamic complexity piano music offers.
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.
Wild Blue Yonder
Catalog #: NV6346
Release Date: April 23, 2021
20th Century21st CenturyChamberCelloOboeViolinEleanor Alberga explores the whole gamut of the human experience in WILD BLUE YONDER, an equally diverse and coherent set of four contemporary chamber music pieces. While written over the course of twenty-two years, these pieces burst the limits of both space and time. No-Man’s-Land Lullaby reaches back over a century to World War I; Shining Gate of Morpheus enters the realm of the mystical; Succubus Moon explores the dark sides of the human psyche; and The Wild Blue Yonder offers a glimpse into a world that is at once alien and wonderful. Undauntedly, positively unsettling album; perfect listening for these unsettling times and a worthy addition to the much hailed album of Alberga's three string quartets from 2019.
Lock & Key Vol. II
Catalog #: NV6335
Release Date: February 12, 2021
21st CenturyChamberClarinetPianoWind EnsembleLOCK & KEY VOL II is the second presentation of five composers drawing from the well of inspiration – in highly heterogeneous ways and from a plethora of sources, yet all united by a common theme: the profound depths of the human experience. The pieces all revel exuberantly: in the natural beauty of Iceland, the nostalgia evoked by a distantly familiar melody, the random augury of a deck of tarot cards, late 19th Century anthems adapted for woodwind quintet, or the kinetic energy of musical gestures.