Release Date: September 11, 2020
Catalog #: NV6311
Format: Digital & Physical
21st Century
Orchestral
Flute
Orchestra
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Dimensions Vol. 3

Works for Large Ensemble

Andre’ E. Godsey, Sr. composer
Paul Osterfield composer
Miguel Matamoro composer
Eric Simonson composer
Michael G. Cunningham composer

The third installment in Navona Records’ series for orchestra is here: DIMENSIONS VOL 3, featuring the work of contemporary composers Michael G. Cunningham, Andre’ Godsey, Miguel Matamoro, Paul Osterfield, and Eric Simonson. Harnessing the power of a concert hall full of virtuosos performing original compositions from today’s composers, DIMENSIONS VOL 3 packs a powerful punch.

The compilation kicks off with the work of Dr. Andre’ E. Godsey, Sr. The first movement of his Symphony Number One in C# Minor: Themes for Søren Kierkegaard is a sweeping programmatic piece imagining the life of the legendary Danish philosopher and polymath. This movement deals with Kierkegaard’s heartbreak following the cutting off of his wedding engagement to the love of his life. Paul Osterfield’s Silver Fantasy follows, a concertante wind ensemble piece featuring graceful lyrical passages and vibrant rhythmic energy. In Brétema, named after the Galician word referring to dense fog and clouds, composer Miguel Matamoro draws parallels between the Spanish cliffs that perpetually emerge and retreat among the smoky mist and the prism-like fluidity of his own musical idiom.

Eric Simonson contributes Maples and Rondeaux avec Berlioz from his TWO PICTURES FOR ORCHESTRA. Both are based on musical “snapshots” of pieces from Beethoven and Berlioz, respectively. These quotations, taken from less well-known passages, provide the basis for Simonson’s compositions, which reconsider their fragmented primary sources in a new light. Michael G. Cunningham’s Symphony No. 7 and Impromptus—featuring all the sophistication and nuance listeners have come to expect from him over the years—round out the album.

The breadth of talent and compositional styles present on DIMENSIONS VOL 3 makes this album something truly remarkable. Each of these five composers brings his unique approach, distinctive palette of influences, and fine-tuned sensitivities to the table. The result is a compilation album that offers not only this impressive breadth but a sense of depth usually reserved for single-composer albums.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Symphony No. 1 in C-Sharp Minor: I. Themes for Søren Kierkegaard Andre’ E. Godsey, Sr. Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra | Jiří Petrdlík, conductor 6:22
02 Silver Fantasy Paul Osterfield Lindsey Goodman, flute | Moravian Philharmonia Wind & Percussion Ensemble | Petr Vronský, conductor 8:02
03 Brétema Miguel Matamoro Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra | Jiří Petrdlík, conductor 6:01
04 2 Pictures: No. 1, Maples Eric Simonson Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 4:07
05 2 Pictures: No. 2, Rondeaux avec Berlioz Eric Simonson Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 7:49
06 Symphony No. 7: I. Wind Michael G. Cunningham Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Pavel Šnajdr, conductor 3:30
07 Symphony No. 7: I. Fire Michael G. Cunningham Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Pavel Šnajdr, conductor 2:15
08 Symphony No. 7: I. Rain Michael G. Cunningham Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Pavel Šnajdr, conductor 2:29
09 Symphony No. 7: I. Earth Michael G. Cunningham Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Pavel Šnajdr, conductor 1:58
10 Impromptus, Op. 149c Michael G. Cunningham Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Pavel Šnajdr, conductor 6:35

SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN C# MINOR
Recorded February 13, 2020 at Dům Kultury města Ostravy (The Ostrava House of Culture) in Ostrava, Czech Republic
Session Producer Jan Košulič
Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Assistant Engineer Jana Jelínková

SILVER FANTASY
Recorded March 7, 2017 at Reduta Hall in Olomouc, Czech Republic
Session Producer Vít Mužík
Session Engineers Aleš Dvořák, Jan Košulič
Flute recorded April 24, 2017 at Futura Productions in Roslindale MA
Session Producer & Engineer John Weston
Assistant Engineer Alec Seymour

BRÉTEMA
Recorded Septembr 3, 2019 at Dům Kultury města Ostravy (The Ostrava House of Culture) in Ostrava, Czech Republic
Session Producer Jan Košulič
Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Assistant Engineer Maroš Hlatký

TWO PICTURES
Recorded October 14-15, 2019 at Dům Kultury města Ostravy (The Ostrava House of Culture) in Ostrava, Czech Republic
Session Producer Jan Košulič
Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Assistant Engineer Maroš Hlatký

SYMPHONY NO. 7 & IMPROMPTUS
Recorded Septmeber 19, 2019 at Reduta Hall in Olomouc, Czech Republic
Session Producer Vít Mužík
Session Engineer Jan Košulič
Assistant Engineer Maroš Hlatký

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Danielle Lewis, Chris Robinson, Jacob Smith

VP, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Recording Sessions Director Levi Brown
Audio Director, Editing & Mixing (tracks 1 – 3) Lucas Paquette

International Recording Sessions Manager, Editing & Mixing (tracks 1, 4, 5) Jan Košulič

Editing & Mixing (tracks 6-10), Mastering Shaun Michaud

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner

Artist Information

Michael G. Cunningham

Composer

A great artist can manifest answers to otherwise perplexing aspects of our world through their craft and help us find understanding. Composer, author, and long-time PARMA artist Michael G. Cunningham (1937-2022) was the embodiment of this truth, a prolific artist whose timeless body of work will resonate for years to come. From symphonies and other orchestral works to piano pieces, art songs, opera, choral compositions, and works for jazz ensembles spanning 11 Navona Records releases, Cunningham showed an unwavering dedication to sharing his music with the world. Upon receiving his doctorate from Indiana University, Cunningham embarked on an artistic journey that would lead him to write over 250 musical compositions spanning multiple genres, pedagogical music books, and more.

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Andre’ E. Godsey, Sr.

Composer

Dr. Andre’ E. Godsey, Sr., Ph.D. has found his voice in the contemporary classical music venue. Over the last 15 years, he reveals an ability to inspire and entertain audiences nationally and internationally. At Lake Clifton Senior High school in Baltimore MD, he was awarded the Musician of the Year for 1979. In more recent times, several musical events include the world premiere of Symphony Number One in C# Minor: Themes for Soren Kierkegaard, “Movement One,” at the Sao Paulo Contemporary Classical Music Festival, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2019. The same work was recorded by Navona Records and featured on DIMENSIONS VOL 3, which received a Silver Medal in the December 2020 Global Music Awards. 

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Paul Osterfield

Composer

Composer Paul Osterfield was born in Nashville TN in 1973. Spending his formative years in Northeast Ohio, he composed and performed as a cellist throughout middle school and high school, in addition to studying violin, piano, and conducting. His early efforts as a composer were recognized in 1990, when the United States Copyright Office and the Library of Congress awarded Osterfield first prize in their Young Creators’ Contest. The following year, that winning work was performed by the Cleveland Orchestra on their Family Key Concert Series.

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Miguel Matamoro

Composer

Miguel Matamoro studied composition with Gabriel Erkoreka, Ramón Lazkano, and Zuriñe F. Gerenabarrena at the Higher School of Music of the Basque Country, Musikene, and then his received his master’s degree from the Higher School of Music Katarina Gurska in Madrid.

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Eric Simonson

Composer

Eric Simonson's music has been heard in concerts across North America, including SEAMUS (Society of Electroacoustic Music in the United States), ICMC (International Computer Music Conference) and SCI (Society of Composers Incorporated) performances.

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Notes

SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN C# MINOR: THEMES FOR SØREN KIERKEGAARD – FIRST MOVEMENT is a musical expression for the Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, writer, and social critic who offered a perspective on the Christian religion that one should live their life instead of being confined to dogmas, rituals, rules, and regulations only. Kierkegaard’s three stages of life’s way, the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious, illustrate his desire to live in such a way that the individual shows their individuality instead of religiously following “the herd” mentality. For this philosophy, Kierkegaard received fierce and undo criticism from the Danish church and in his beloved University of Copenhagen. In this symphony in C# minor, the opening motif is a wandering and searching musical idea that reveals a heartbreaking theme, reflecting his lifelong loss of his dear Regina Olson. He and Regina were to be married, but Kierkegaard broke the engagement because he thought that he would never live up to the ideal husband she needed him to be. As a result of this emotional breakup, his philosophical writings discuss the effects of anxiety, dread, irony, faith, and subjectivity. The first movement is an introduction to Kierkegaard’s thesis of what is now known as existentialism. He is known to be the father of existentialism in philosophical literature. This first movement is meant to be the sonorous rendering of what the aesthetic aspect of life could be if one has the desire to become the majestic individual Kierkegaard demanded of himself and suggested to others.

— Dr. Andre’ E. Godsey, Sr.

SILVER FANTASY (2012) was commissioned by a consortium of nine flutists, organized by Lisa A. Jelle, for the purpose of encouraging the composition of new music for the flute and wind ensemble. The work captures the fluid technical potentialities of the modern flute and piccolo while sharing the musical responsibilities equally with the woodwinds, brass, and percussion.

The first section of the piece begins with a slow, somber introduction followed by a statement of the theme by the flute soloist. The theme is restated by a sequential trio of instruments, beginning in the trombone, moving to the horn, and concluding in the trumpet. The soloist develops the theme in the following passage, with light interplay between the flute part and the ensemble. Harmonies utilized include the dissonance of the minor second, though scored an octave apart to soften the effect. The first section concludes with a return of the introductory material.

The second section of Silver Fantasy is introduced by the percussion section, with the timpani stating the thematic material. Upper woodwinds answer this initial statement utilizing derivative rhythmic material initially stated within the percussion section. New rhythms and intensity appears in the trumpets and trombones as the section moves toward a thematic transformation by the flute solo. The solo line borrows freely from the accompanimental material leading to a third section. This appears in a militaristic, comical statement by the solo melodic line, now played on the piccolo. The ensemble, not wishing to miss out on the fun, repeats the piccolo statement in a somewhat dissonant manner while the piccolo soloist freely executes pseudo-improvisatory figurations that brings the piece to an “Ives-like” conclusion.

– Barry E. Kopetz

A solitary traveler entering the northwestern part of Spain, Galicia, following the historical Way of St. James could argue that our land does not really exist, that it is a mythical fabrication. It remains perpetually covered by fog and clouds, by brétema: hidden, unreachable, always at a distance. Its indomitable mountains and cliffs can only be perceived as a collection of shades that emerge from that brétema by those who dare to penetrate its unknown interior. A fog that dilutes the sense of beginning and end, of the boundary, of the defined, of the straight line, leaving only space for the unclear, the sinuous, the unfinished. The brétema becomes a mechanism of perception, a prism. The listener becomes, here, the traveler—a traveler that gets lost in the fluidity of a musical idiom made out of brétema — Roberto Alonso, violinist

To my father, Angel Matamoro. — Miguel Matamoro

Each of the four movements of SYMPHONY NO. 7 is to be either performed or heard during simultaneous reading or recitation of four selected poems of E.E. Cummings. Though the poet did not label them as such, the four poems refer to the primitive Four Elements as listed on the disk.

— Michael G. Cunningham

More warmly plotted, the two IMPROMPTUS pass in time in a friendlier manner. This is the third version of this work, the earlier versions were duets with entirely different titles and movement names. The first involves Saxophone/Guitar, and the second BassFlute/-Clavichord.

— Michael G. Cunningham

Explore more albums in this series

Dimensions Vol. 5

Dimensions Vol. 5

Dimensions Vol. 4

Dimensions Vol. 2

Dimensions