Catalog

How can something as intimate as a musical moment shared between two people open up the door to endless possibilities? Discover the answer in ART FOR TWO, a collection of works by acclaimed composer Arthur Gottschalk and performed by Italian woodwind extraordinaires Sauro Berti and Mario Ciaccio, accompanied by the skilled hands of pianist Naomi Fujiya. In each piece, the performers call listeners into the moment as they traverse art music inspired by sources from traditional Jewish hymns to Frank Zappa.

Jeffrey John Hall resists conventionality, both in his compositions as well as in their titles. Hence the album consisting of his Seven Piano Pieces isn't called a suite or a cycle, but simply ARTIFACTS. Immaculately performed by pianist Steven Beck, these profoundly cerebral works, written between 1976 and late 2019, mesmerize with a sober exploration of contemporary compositional techniques and the expressive potential of the piano. Often minimal, always highly subjective, Hall's works embrace a flawless balance of communicative functionality and aesthetics, perfectly encapsulating their respective pocket of time, in quite the same manner as an archeological artifact, indeed.

ASCEND, the latest collaboration between PARMA Recordings and the Society of Composes, Inc., is an enthralling showcase of leading composers and performers from around the world. Featuring fantastic ensembles, and with works that reference far-flung locations and historical events, this album journeys fascinatingly through time and space as it compiles a competitively selected sample of today’s best compositions.

Modern traditionalist composer Garth Baxter’s album ASK OF ME WHAT THE BIRDS SANG presents a wide variety of instrumental works as well as vocal music; each of these unique pieces has a special connection with a song. When Lights Begin to Show, for example, includes a musical quote from “Afternoon on a Hill,” which is the first song in Three Poems from Edna St. Vincent Millay. The songs referenced sometimes come from earlier works by Baxter or borrow from folk music. An unabashedly lyrical composer, Baxter combines the traditions of form and clear melodic writing with contemporary approaches to harmony and other elements.

Composer Garth Baxter makes his PARMA debut with a collection of his exquisite works for voice entitled Ask the Moon. This album is about the human condition and the pursuit of light in darkness. A setting of Sara Teasdale’s “Nights Without Sleep,” for voice and piano commences the album’s journey of introspection.

With an innate sense of curiosity and a drive for knowledge, humans constantly push the boundaries of their physical and psychological environments, attempting to break through and discover the unexpected. On his debut Navona Records release ASTRAL TRAVELS, composer and double bassist David Arend explores several frontiers, including perceived boundaries between musical genres, earth and outer space, humanity and nature, and perception and reality.

ASTRAL VINYL is a collection of the compositions of composer, arranger, performer and producer Stephen Barber. Barber's remarkably original music draws an inner conversation free from constraints to create eclectic works that invite emotional involvement and provide fresh perspectives towards music. The works on this disc range from a piece for string quartet to a fanfare for brass ensemble to a piece for soprano, piano and steel drum trio, all of which are uniquely and brilliantly imaginative.

AT THE PRECIPICE, the third release on Navona Records featuring the music of the late composer Yves Ramette (1921-2012), showcases four world premiere recordings of the composer's works. Recorded with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2013 after his passing, these four orchestral pieces follow on the heels of Ramette's albums CASCADING INTO REVERIE for piano and orchestra and WITH PASSION for solo piano, and offer interesting insight into not only the composer himself but also the times in which he worked.

Peter Vukmirovic Stevens is a composer whose music is informed and guided by deep connections with visual media, literature, travel, and works by composers past and present. AUGUST RUINS, an album of Stevens' works for solo cello, gives these influences life through the cello's unequivocal range and timbre, allowing for a raw, isolated expression of emotion, history, and visual beauty unencumbered by accompaniment.

Gavin Borchert of Seattle Weekly applauds Peter Vukmirovic Stevens' AUGUST RUINS (2013), saying, "[Cellist] Paige Stockley plays it stunningly; I would relish the chance to hear her do it live." The opportunity to hear a live performance of Stockley playing Stevens' compelling solo cello work is now available as a digital release through Navona Records, AUGUST RUINS LIVE.

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.

Voices of Concinnity finds connection through universal experiences on AWAITING GOLDEN LIGHT. Based in Connecticut, the inclusive professional vocal ensemble melded each singer's unique vocal qualities into the richness of choral sound for this project. Seeking connection through the isolation of a global pandemic, their members took inspiration from gazing at the glowing moon, experiencing the renewal of a new golden sunrise, anticipating wonder at the perseverance of a bulb blooming in spring, and finding solace in shining stars after the loss of a beloved. With this Navona Records release, the ensemble invites listeners to draw their eyes up toward the heavens and out beyond the horizon to find meaning.

Navona Records is proud to present the debut commercial release from the critically acclaimed Coro Allegro, Boston's chorus for members and friends of the LGBT community. This album, AWAKENINGS, features two extraordinary works by composers from the Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts: Shofar by Robert Stern, an intensely dramatic and deeply moving oratorio inspired by the four arresting calls of the shofar; and Why I Wake Early by Ronald Perera, with text drawn from the poetry of Mary Oliver.

AXIOM is the second Navona release of and the 26th addition to the Society of Composers, Inc. CD Series, featuring compositions from Michael Boyd, Joo Won Park, Israel Neuman, Liviu Marinescu, Jay C. Batzner, and Peter Van Zandt Lane. The scholarly and musical experience of each composer and the selective process SCI uses for each release create a compilation that ensures representation of the highest quality work in a variety of compositional styles.

An axiom is a self-evident truth. Everything on this album represents different aspects and shades of truth. On their debut recording, Axiom Quartet probes the soul and delivers a deeply satisfying statement on truth and inner fulfillment.

BACH CELLO SUITES is a two-disc release from native Romanian cellist Ovidiu Marinescu featuring Johann Sebastian Bach's 6 Suites for Violoncello Solo. Representing the pinnacle of solo cello repertory, the suites on this disc were composed in 1721/22 in Cöthen, Germany. Bach's cello suites follow the trend that developed in mid-18th century German-speaking countries, in which a suite consisted of four stylized dances: the allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue.

Although we've all heard countless variations of J.S. Bach's ubiquitous Well-Tempered Clavier, from a subtle grace note added to Prelude and fugue in D minor to a dramatic rest added to Prelude and fugue in A major, composer and pianist Don Freund takes Book 1 of Bach's masterpiece and offers analysis with "A Composer's Approach," a unique, critical eye for a series of miniatures that are typically viewed through the lens of a performer.

BACK BEFORE BACH, the latest Navona Records release from the Philadelphia-based ‘Renaissance band’ Piffaro, is an exceptional compendium of sixteenth and early seventeenth century German and Franco-Flemish music. As the album’s title suggests, the group of composers Piffaro features can be seen as the precedent for the luminaries of the German baroque era, specifically Johann Sebastian Bach. With BACK BEFORE BACH simultaneously drawing from a wide variety of genres, yet also focusing on a geographically and temporally limited group of composers, Piffaro succeeds wildly in presenting the musical foundation from which Bach and his contemporaries emerged.

With uncompromised interpretation, duo526, the powerful union of violinist Kerry DuWors and pianist Futaba Niekawa, presents BALLADE, their debut on Navona Records, performing violin sonatas by Leoš Janácek, George Enescu, and Edvard Grieg-repertoire rarely performed together. Yet each of the three sonatas introduces themes from European folk tunes and exalted Romanticism.

American concert pianist Steven Masi explores the depths of Romantic and Impressionist piano literature on BALLADES & OTHER MUSINGS. Emotive, evocative, and deeply stirring, Masi uncovers previously unheard nuances in both Chopin and Debussy, as well as in their contemporary colleague, Sarah Kirkland Snider, whose musical language seamlessly blends with that of her predecessors. The precision in Masi's performance is breathtaking. It lends an extraordinary clarity to works that are, by their inherent nature, wayward and exalted. Still, generous rubato and creativity in pedaling shine in this program, as does Masi's crystal-clear tone.