Catalog

THREE CELLO SUITES from clarinetist Joshua Ranz and Navona Records is a truly groundbreaking take on Bach’s legendary works; In this album, for the first time ever, listeners may enjoy three unabridged cello suites by Bach arranged for the bass clarinet. Ranz selected Suites 1, 4, and 2 for this recording because, together, they form a cohesive and dynamic whole.

Navona Records presents A NATIVE HILL from Philadelphia’s professional chamber choir, The Crossing. This monumental unaccompanied work is the result of a collaboration with composer Gavin Bryars, whose previous work for The Crossing won them their first of two recent Grammy awards. With intimate knowledge of the individual voices and art of each singer, Bryars composed A NATIVE HILL to capitalize on the group’s unique sound, personality, and esprit de corps.

Navona Records’ acclaimed PRISMA series continues with a fifth installment, again showcasing the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra’s riveting take on contemporary composition. With a focus on innovation and imaginative performance, the orchestra brings a breath of fresh air to a repertoire that’s all-too-often dominated by mainstream works.

Ten 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.

On 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.

On NO MORE WAR, composer and award-winning accordionist Semir “Sammy” Hasić shines a spotlight on the 1991 Battle of Vukovar, which plunged eastern Croatia into turmoil. Through the clever usage of dissonance, illogical harmonies, and polyrhythms, the poignant album highlights the aural terrors of a warzone, made all the more jarring by the timbre of the usually cheerful accordion. The message, however, is not all doom and gloom: melodious themes and accompaniment by members of the Philharmonic orchestra provide contrast to the horrors, highlighting the perseverance of the human spirit and how individuals can come together to find hope.

On THE PRIESTESS OF MORPHINE, composer Rosśa Crean and librettist Aiden K. Feltkamp create a beautifully haunting portrait of a Gertrud Günther, a young Jewish lesbian caught between her two selves during the Third Reich, who bravely sought her inner truth and passions while forced to live in the shadows.

Stanley Grill’s REMEMBER is presented by Navona Records. Featuring viola and piano, these inventive works aptly demonstrate Grill’s unique style; rooted in his passion for medieval and Renaissance music, his compositions are as pioneering and contemporary as they are fundamentally traditional. Grill’s work focuses particularly on melody, modal harmonies, and contrapuntal, interweaving lines. The result is a musical experience greater than the sum of the instruments involved.

The album SPARKS VOL. 2 couldn't be more aptly named, as bows bend and sparks fly in this vibrant collection of pieces for string orchestra. Bound to please modernists and traditionalists alike, this eclectic collection contains pieces by Dave Dexter, William C. White, Simon Andrews, Rain Worthington, Allen Brings, John Carollo, John Franek, and Jeff Mangels.

LOCK & 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.

Navona Records is proud to release TRANSIT VOICES from composer Carl Vollrath. Featuring a series of works for clarinet, the album grapples with existential questions; who were the humans of prehistory, and what defining qualities do our spirits share in common with theirs? Vollrath imagines these clarinet pieces as found archaeological objects, voices from long ago that have somehow made their way to our present-day ears. Inspired by Andrew Robinson's book Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World's Undeciphered Scripts, the music plums a cavernous underworld for clues toward a deeper understanding of human existence.

Navona Records proudly presents TISDALE VIRGINAL BOOK from harpsichordist and early keyboard specialist Charles Metz. The album features historical repertoire seldom heard even by Early Music aficionados, all performed on a painstakingly restored Francesco Poggi virginal built c. 1590. The virginal, a member of the harpsichord family, was popular in the late Renaissance into the early Baroque period.

On THE TOWER AND THE GARDEN, the multi-GRAMMY winning choir The Crossing and conductor Donald Nally ponder the fragility of the earth, the awe of nature, and the power of language to unite, or divide, society.

Newly released from Navona is CONVERSATIONS WITH MY SOUL, a collection of new chamber works from acclaimed composer-pianist Bun-Ching Lam. The music sets in different languages the poetry of Shelley, Heine, Rimbaud, and Lasker-Shüller, as well as the poems of 9th Century Chinese mystic Han Shan and contemporary writer Etel Adnan. In a compositional voice The New York Times has called “alluringly exotic,” Lam incorporates baritone voice, piano, viola, flute, French horn, and harp to elucidate timeless works concerning life’s fundamental questions.

RELIVE, from Navona Live features live performances of the music of three composers from around the world. This latest edition of the Navona Live series is inspired by an eclectic blend of world topics, literature,  landscapes, and seascapes. Corrina Bonshek’s Dreams of the Earth is a reworking of a large scale piece for string and percussion inspired by the sight of a swirling flock of birds amidst the backdrop of climate change.

Chicago's best-known early music ensemble The Newberry Consort exhilarates with VESPERS, a collection of dazzlingly original music for women’s voices. The composer? A mysterious early-17th-century Mexican named Juan de Lienas, whose style energetically oscillates between Renaissance and Baroque elements.

Navona Live and pianist Antoinette Perry are proud to present BEETHOVEN BOOKENDS. The album takes listeners from Opus 7—Beethoven’s personal favorite of his early sonatas—through the Bagatelles of Opus 119, and culminates with the composer’s final sonata, Opus 111. BEETHOVEN BOOKENDS is rich with the passion and dynamic range for which Beethoven is renowned; Perry applies what Le Dauphine Libéré has called her “irreproachable technique” to these legendary compositions.

FANFARE SUITE, the latest from composer Mark John McEncroe and Navona Records, features six pieces originally scored for full orchestra on McEncroe’s 2015 album Affirmations & Aspirations. Now, with the help of the Sydney Scoring Orchestra, these sweeping and provocative pieces have been reimagined and rearranged for concert band. Evoking the promise of big horizons and wide open spaces, McEncroe’s compositions are reminiscent of Aaron Copland and Western films from the golden age of Hollywood.

Though there are thousands of languages and countless political differences across the world, people tend to come together through equally endless forms of music and dance. On THE SUITE, the Lowell Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Orlando Cela, focuses the lens on the Baroque dance suite as a method of expression that’s ripe for international flavor, artistic individualism, and human storytelling.

The piano trio Pangaea Chamber Players explores the fickle nexus between music and visual art in their Navona release THREE PERSPECTIVES. While the ensemble's flute-cello-piano setup might evoke ideas of Baroque music, there are no such reminiscences to be found. Instead, the young trio presents three new compositions by contemporary composers. Although recent works, all pieces on THREE PERSPECTIVES are tonal – perhaps owing to their descriptive, illustrative purpose.