Genre: Orchestral

Estonian composer Toivo Tulev is an idiosyncratic visionary in contemporary composition, and this Navona Records disc, DAWN, ALMOST DAWN, delves into themes of imagination and transcendence. The album could be considered an immersive journey through Tulev's oeuvre, one not least afforded by its heterodox instrumentation, including solo violin with scordatura, ney, kaval, a symphonic orchestra, and the bare human voice. The strings featured in this album lend an ethereal dissonance to the program, while the breathy tones of the ney and kaval add a strange, almost mythical warmth. Both the orchestra and the human voice seem paradoxically otherworldly in comparison. The elusive light of consciousness unfolds, wavers, then disappears; when the music stops, one is left with the feeling that nothing is as it was.

Few things are as shrouded in mystery as the process behind the conception of an idea — partially because verbal explorations of cognition are seldom fruitful. But where words fail, music steps in to enlighten: and this is the aim of Kevin Bobo's ORIGINS & EXPANSIONS, a philosophical reflection scored for wind ensemble and steelpan. Bobo musically examines the turbulent process of creation, from uncertain beginnings to victorious transformations. ORIGINS & EXPANSIONS evokes the tentative emergence of an idea, winding through obstacles and moments of introspection, and eventually captures the fragile resilience of inspiration forming. It's a cerebral, immersive exploration of existence itself; metaphysical, yes, but also richly narrative.

MYTHOLOGY SUITE from the acclaimed Nevada Wind Ensemble is a chronological cross-section through the ensemble's highly diverse repertoire: vibrant, unapologetically modern, a determined confluence of 20th century serious music and contemporary 21st-century composition. It's rare to hear a wind ensemble soaring to such lofty heights as under the baton of Reed Chamberlin, who commands the ensemble exceptionally well in this Navona Records release.

Reed Chamberlin’s AVE MARIS STELLA is a rare 21st-century recasting of beloved motets and secular works from the 14th and 16th centuries. Works by du Fay, Gabrieli, de Machaut, and more are reimagined through a double lens — the time-held tradition of setting renaissance work for wind bands, and, especially to the genre, the addition of post-production audio effects. AVE MARIS STELLA’s impressive variety of auditory experiences are recorded at such a high level of performance that it is nothing but a complete delight, from track to track and as a whole body of work.

It's no secret that brass instruments can infuse any musical setting with a hair-raising surge of untamed energy and fervor. On BRASS TACKS VOL 2 from Navona Records, the brass family finds itself the spotlight, showcasing unique tones and unhindered expressiveness that’ve been carefully extracted by a variety of seasoned composers and performers. Spanning joy rides in stylish sports cars, jazz-influenced passages, fusions with percussive instruments, and more, this release explores a wide range of emotions and compositional styles, each uncovering an inherent intensity and bravado that pushes the boundaries of brass repertoire.

VOICES OF THE LAND from composer Christina Rusnak guides listeners on a journey through America, celebrating its landscape and its people. Featuring the Juventas New Music Ensemble, the pieces on this album explore the emotions and experiences of settlers, miners, and indigenous people as they navigated the challenges, triumphs, and indignities of early American history. Drawing inspiration from the Homestead Act and the Klondike Gold Rush to the John Day River and Pine Meadow Ranch, Rusnak’s music weaves together the rhythms and sounds of nature with the stories of the nation’s early inhabitants. This album is in keeping with Rusnak’s other work as a composer, focusing on the intersection of place, nature, culture, history, and art. A powerful tribute to the land and the people who shaped it, VOICES OF THE LAND invites listeners to reflect on the complex history of America.

Composer and double bassist Peter Paulsen presents SHANGHAIED PAISANO, featuring the contemporary music ensemble TurksHeadKnot joined by The Dali Quartet. TurksHeadKnot, which includes Paulsen on double bass and as director, Chris Hanning on percussion, and Chris Bacas on saxophones, incorporates the discipline and precision of modern classical composition with the expressive flow of jazz improvisation. The ensemble is accompanied on this album by The Dali Quartet, a string ensemble known for mixing Latin American, Classical, and Romantic repertoire. SHANGHAIED PAISANO features Paulsen’s Shanghaied Paisano, a four-movement work inspired by Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Americus IV, as well as Paulsen’s arrangement of Chega De Saudade by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

BEE-SHARP HONEYBEE from composer Rae Howell is an immersive journey through the secret life of bees, performed here by the Sunwrae String Orchestra, intertwined with the hum of a live honeybee hive. It is the foundation of a large-scale multimedia work, featuring live animated projections synchronized with the music, and a real-time stream of honeybees, filmed, amplified, and intermittently fed through the live performance. Developed from extensive research into bee (buzz) rhythm, pitch, and "waggle dance" patterns (the sophisticated system of communication between bees, detailing the distance and direction of nectar in the environment), BEE-SHARP HONEYBEE magnifies the subtle intricacies of the beehive, highlighting these distinct patterns, identified through field recordings made during the initial research and development of the project.

Daniel Burwasser’s music has been praised as accessible, communicative, and imaginative, descriptors encapsulated in the recordings of FLIGHTS OF IMAGINATION, a comprehensive release including some of Burwasser’s most beloved works. Burwasser provides no shortage of musical variety; the childlike wonder of Catching Fireflies is paired with the rhythmic, jubilant, and occasionally mystical qualities of Whirlwind, Flux, and Puck’s Game, while A Well-Traveled Road is a tumultuous and lively musical journey through lush, overflowing fields of orchestration. There is undoubtedly something for every musical ear in the works of Daniel Burwasser, and in FLIGHTS OF IMAGINATION, listeners will be well-met in finding it.

Edward Hart’s UNDER AN INDIGO SKY features A Charleston Concerto and Under an Indigo Sky, two concertos that celebrate and reflect the history and culture of the Southeastern United States. A native of Charleston SC, Hart finds inspiration in the natural beauty and multicultural heritage of his homeland. A Charleston Concerto was written to commemorate the 350th Anniversary of the City of Charleston; it features a collaboration with the Charleston Symphony and the world-renowned Harlem Quartet. It takes an unflinching yet ultimately hopeful view of the city’s complex history over those three and a half centuries. Under an Indigo Sky for violin and orchestra is a musical love letter written to Hart’s geographical home. It explores both the physical splendor of the mountains and coast, but also the feel and “soul” of these breathtaking places.

Life can sometimes seem like an infinity mirror of colors reflecting off of themselves, each tint deeply distinct in its own right, yet profoundly beautiful when viewed as a whole. This sentiment is thoughtfully expressed in KALEIDOSCOPE from composer Craig Morris and Navona Records. Morris’s compositional strengths are far-reaching and dynamic, and aptly showcased here with orchestral and chamber works written in a variety of orchestrations. Sentiments of gentle reflections, care and acceptance, and love are echoed throughout this release, a cohesive collection of works written from powerful emotions that tie into the kaleidoscope that is the human experience.

AMERICAN SCENES, from composer Samuel A. Livingston is, as its title suggests, a painterly tribute to America. The album’s title piece, Three American Scenes, is a three-movement suite that expresses the grandeur of the American west, the serenity of a mountain lake at dawn, and the bustle of a busy day in a large city. The album opens with Celebrating the Fourth, which depicts an American Fourth of July celebration. The final two selections feature works for concert band with a solo instrument – the flute, in Silvertube Variations, and the clarinet, in Balkan Dance. In that last selection, Livingston turns his attention beyond our shores, to the harmonies and rhythms of the folk music of the Balkan countries, especially Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Altogether, AMERICAN SCENES is thoughtfully-crafted and unabashedly jubilant, expressing appreciation for America and the world beyond with refreshing sincerity.

Hot on the heels of its first edition, INVITING WORLDS VOL 2 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor with the rhythmic dexterity and textural nuance of today’s orchestras paired with a new roster of composers. New sounds and expressions burst with emotion and uplift us through dark days, navigating uncertainty and delivering us to tranquil resolution. From the frenetic energy and hair raising harmony of Chasse Noir to the soothing solemnity of When Quiet Comes, INVITING WORLDS VOL 2 delivers a colorful palette of orchestral virtuosity sure to please any listener who lends an ear.

From the mysterious magic of our darkest corners to the exuberant atmosphere of Carnaval, infinite possibilities lay within INVITING WORLDS from Navona Records. The musical dimensions of several composers are explored by the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Zagreb Festival Orchestra, and the National Moravian-Silesian Theater Choir in this dynamic journey, offering insight into new realms through imaginative approaches to composition. Even in far away lands, close-to-home concepts are explored in thought-provoking soundscapes, showcasing the rhythmic dexterity and textural nuance of today’s orchestras across a wide breadth of compositional styles.

SEQUOIAS from composer Jeffrey Jacob and Navona Records is an ode to the entrancing qualities of the natural world, echoing through music an appreciation for its transcendental beauty and concern for the devastating impact of climate change. Inspired by what he calls “cathedral-like sentinels of nature,” Symphony No. 6 meditates on the magnificence and grandeur of the tall trees towering in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. With other pieces inspired by the limitless reverberations conjured from the forest and the natural light that illuminates it, SEQUOIAS showcases the composer’s creative ambition and commitment to the environment.

Navona Records is proud to present RESTLESS NATION: THE MUSIC OF ANDY TEIRSTEIN. A student of Leonard Bernstein and Henry Brant, Teirstein’s music has been described by The New York Times as “magically atmospheric” and “tumultuously exuberant,” with “shifts from dark, earthy urgency to floating purity.” Featuring master soloists Marco Ambrosini (nyckelharpa) and Yair Dalal (oud), this new collection takes inspiration from the composer’s many travels directing the global initiative Translucent Borders, with musical influences from Bedouin singing, Scandinavian folk music, and his roots as a folk fiddle and banjo player. Letter from Woody is an orchestral reimagining of a letter the iconic folk balladeer Woody Guthrie wrote to his lover and future wife, the dancer Marjorie Mazia, in the 1940s, with hints of Guthrie’s songs and an introduction for harmonica.

From yin and yang to public debate, much in the world revolves around opposing forces. POLARITIES VOL. 2, an album of new presentations in classical music, documents the intricacies of these forces, expressing the emotions, sensations, and scenes associated with the extreme ends of conversation and change.

Longtime Navona Records artist Michael G. Cunningham showcases his penchant for storytelling on THREE THEATRE PIECES AND CHOPIN, an album rife with theatrical wonders that delight both the ears and the imagination.

THE RIVER OF TIME, Navona Records’ latest release, is a captivating tour de force by conductor Mike Fansler and the Western Illinois University Wind Ensemble. Recorded by legendary engineer Bruce Leek – whose recording portfolio includes the President’s Own Marine Band – this album captures the full emotive intensity of one of America’s finest collegiate ensembles.

Peter Greve may be seen as a prime example for music as a late vocation – though it's hard to believe when one hears how deeply his creations root in the bon ton of contemporary musical academia. THE PALACE OF THE DREAMKING offers a cross-section through Greve's eclectic and wildly experimental body of compositional work.