Genre: Vocal Music

Titled for composer Scott Gendel’s setting of forensic scientist Lori Baker’s spoken grief for those lost at the Mexican-American border, HOPE EATS YOU ALIVE, recorded by the Madison Choral Project, loudly proclaims: “something has to be done.” The graphic and heart-breaking story of Baker’s mission to identify the bodies buried in shallow graves at the border reveals several issues at the center of the immigration debate. Gendel book-ends with the words of Chris van Dyke, who questions if the lines we’ve drawn between each other are worth the lives they’ve taken. HOPE EATS YOU ALIVE includes recordings of four more works by Gendel, some humorous, some warm, some contemplative, but each evoking a common message: love is worth hoping for, even if it eats at you, even if it takes you alive, and loving one another is something we must do as often as possible.

Choral Chameleon, under the direction of Vince Peterson, explores the concept of change as a fundamental aspect of our existence on CHANGING from Navona Records. The texts and poems in this release delve into change as something that is inevitable and cyclical, to be actively embraced and critically examined in how it transforms our experiences, identities, and worldviews. CHANGING encourages listeners to move forward together with joyful anticipation of what is to come — not only with willingness, but with courage and evergreen determination.

Blending vocal and orchestral elements across several movements, cantatas are notoriously difficult to compose. Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg has accepted the challenge with ANY OF THOSE DECEMBERS, setting poems by Jeanne Minahan to music. The result is intimate, aesthetic, and wistful — a tender embrace of lyrics and sound.  Scored for four solo singers with varying accompaniments, ANY OF THOSE DECEMBERS impresses on multiple fronts. But it isn't due to the excellent source material alone: the master performers in Lyric Fest bring both the lyrics and the composition to life. A wonderful collaboration, in which the whole is even greater than the sum of its parts, Wenzelberg’s work is “a cantata to make memories sing.”

Celebrated soprano Ellaina Lewis honors composer Richard Thompson's art song oeuvre in LIFE'S SWEET SHADOWS, a recording created in collaboration with masterful sound designer Joe Williams. Immersed in the rich text of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, Lewis gives a profoundly emotional performance, her rich timbre pronouncing the story within each song and elevating the complexities of Thompson's compositional style. Lewis shines in each expression, proving equal beauty in the musings of One Life as the joyful call of Passion. Lovingly brought to fruition with the help of many supporters, including the encouragement of pianist Kim Davenport, LIFE'S SWEET SHADOWS is a triumph in art song.

If one could have recorded an ancient culture, how would it have sounded? Croatian conductor Antoaneta Radočaj-Jerković and two all-female choirs under her lead pursue this question. The result is HORIZON, a haunting performance of the eponymous work by contemporary composer Dalibor Bukvić. HORIZON is meant to evoke the ambiance of the prehistoric Vučedol culture, which flourished between 3000 and 2200 B.C. in what is now (mostly) Croatia. And in this endeavor, it succeeds with unsettling precision: Bukvić's work and the choirs' impeccable performance conjure images of hermetic settlements, starry skies, pagan rituals, and an ever-present consciousness of impending extinction. An ethereal experience.

The multi-GRAMMY® award winning ensemble The Crossing, led by Donald Nally, delivers an enthralling program of contemporary choral compositions with MECIENDO from Navona Records. New works from six composers unknown to one another and yet wondrously aligned; their music weaves together seamlessly, even mystically, into a meaningful story of spirituality and interconnectedness. Warmth and sparkle alternate effortlessly in the choral textures created by this renowned ensemble, enveloping listeners in a sound that travels from the closed arms of a loved one to the stars above. Available in stereo and Dolby Atmos immersive audio formats, MECIENDO blends the intimate and the profound in an awe-inducing performance.

VOICES FROM THE OTHER SIDE is a collection of evocative chamber works performed by cello octet — several with soprano soloist Gabrielle Haigh. Included are Arvo Pärt’s tintinnabuli-style Fratres as well as his L’abbé Agathon, inspired by the remains of a 12th-century leper hospital near Beauvais, France; as well as the beloved Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Two works by American composer Margi Griebling-Haigh are featured: the title piece is a setting of three otherworldly poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and a single-movement work called Cantilena allows the cellists to shine individually as well as together. Griebling-Haigh’s music has been praised for memorable melodies and strong rhythms; her colorful scoring and harmonic language have been compared to Barber, Ravel, and Poulenc.

Recently named Musical America's 2024 Ensemble of the Year, Donald Nally's chamber choir The Crossing stuns with their latest studio album, WAYS YOU WENT. Vibrant, exhilarating, and uplifting, this new release features original compositions by composers Martin Bresnick and Mason Bates. WAYS YOU WENT is a yin and yang of interconnected opposites. Bresnick's song cycle Self-Portraits 1964 exclusively deals with the life and personality of a single man: young and intellectual, working as a trash collector to put himself through college, and escaping into literature at night. Bates' trilogy Mass Transmission takes a telegraph conversation between mother and daughter in the 1920s and sets it to music, contrasting the warmth of human communication and a mechanistic medium. Both of these cycles, one introspective, the other socially oriented, are snapshots of a time gone by. The Crossing brings both to life with perfect mastery.

Music about grief is a bit like medicine: most people don't reach for it until they find themselves in need. The Vertex Duo, composed of mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein and pianist Jeremy Chan, might sympathize, having created just this medicine for the soul in the wake of some of their darkest biographical hours. The result is JOY, TOO, a curiously wonderful collection of melancholy songs — so lyrical and beautiful, one doesn't have to be sad to want to listen to it. In case of misfortune however, it may well be sanity-saving: with its stirring melodies and poignant lyrics, JOY, TOO serves as a testament to the universal experience of sorrow, offering solace and understanding to those grappling with its impact.

Displaying their characteristic, fearless virtuosity, multiple-GRAMMY®-winning ensemble The Crossing offers a new album born of cultural resonance, with new works by three of the most creative composers working today. The performances on OCHRE are both rigorous and supple, moving from the intriguing, foggy textures of George Lewis to Caroline Shaw’s primarily wordless, quiet contemplation of the Earth, to Ayanna Woods’ inspired determination to live in a better world. This is The Crossing’s 13th release on Navona Records, and it is a special one. Topical, timely, and forward-looking, these performances of the 24-voice ensemble led by conductor Donald Nally demonstrate why Gramophone recently observed the group's ability to “sustain long lines, clarify layers of dense counterpoint and pinpoint the expressive intent of every detail, however minute or cataclysmic."

Navona Records is pleased to present UNSEEN PATHS, a variegated collection of works by late composer Lawrence K. Moss. Well known for his diverse musical oeuvre spanning vocal, instrumental, and electronic works, UNSEEN PATHS shows us a deeper look into his mastery in the chamber music genre, from flute and piano duos to music for string quartet, operas, and more. As a valediction to a remarkable career, this collection is a timeless tribute to Moss' enduring legacy, inviting listeners to savor the depth and brilliance of his artistic voice.

The Crossing, conducted by Donald Nally, returns to Navona Records with MOTION STUDIES, performing works by commissioned artist Justine Chen’s Shallow Breath and Stealth and commissioned artist Nicholas Cline’s watershed. Reflecting on a culture where data mining and government traceability have become normalized to the point of population complacency, Chen encapsulates the dissecting points of poet Jena Osman’s musings on the 21st-century reframing of paranoia, privacy, and the pervasive desire to run away from the data that follows us. Evidence of these reflections is present in the tittering, whispering, and often frantic conveyances of the ensemble in an unnerving collection of sequences that paint an antagonistic image of the modern machine. watershed designates motion as boundary rather than as escape: the movement of water as a crux point of political power and community resource. Joined by Matthew Levy on tenor sax, the ensemble ebbs with lap and flow as the American history of water is sung and dictated, leading the question of the damage nationalistic attitudes towards shared water resources have caused to our environment. A 2024 Best Choral Performance GRAMMY® nominee and multi-GRAMMY® winning ensemble, The Crossing continually proves itself to be at the forefront of new choral literature and performance. MOTION STUDIES is a release not to be missed.

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.

THREE SONGS TO POEMS brings to life poems written by clinical psychiatrist Dr. Frank Clark set to music by Gordon (Dick) Goodwin. The themes are as emotionally complex as life itself, and so is the music. The pieces illuminate the reflections of a son whose mother suffers from dementia, the joys of becoming a father, as well as the healing of an emotionally neglected child. Heart-wrenchingly performed by tenor Johnnie Felder and pianist Winifred Goodwin, this brief but complete set of songs is bound to leave a lasting impression.

A love of poetry lies at the core of Monica Houghton’s A BREATH OF AIR from Navona Records. She has set to music not only lyrical giants such as Whitman, Dickinson, and Hughes, but also some contemporary poets with their own magnificent lyrical gifts. These soul-touching works are performed to the highest possible standard by select world-class singers and accompanists. A perfect symbiosis on all fronts.

Ethereal, uplifting, and deeply impactful throughout. The works on CELESTIAL VOICES check these boxes and more. Featuring sacred choral works from several contemporary composers, this offering from Navona Records is a musical exploration into the divine that’s ready to be experienced in both stereo and Dolby Atmos immersive audio formats. Modern harmonies and rhythmic freedom, new settings of famous hymns, fragments of plainchant that highlight contemporary topics, and more are expressed with clarity and spirit by The Kühn Choir of Prague in this release, who are joined by supportive instrumentalists at various points in the program.

BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL from Dr. Diane Retallack and The Eugene Concert Choir is an ode to hope in the face of injustice. This Navona Records release showcases music by Black composers that shed light on the Black experience including two choral masterworks: Seven Last Words of the Unarmed by Joel Thompson and the world premiere recording of Dr. Undine Smith Moore’s oratorio Scenes from the Life of a Martyr. Thompson’s composition is modeled after Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ; in this work, Joel Thompson quotes the last words of seven unarmed African American men killed by police or authority figures. Moore’s oratorio depicts the life of Martin Luther King, Jr, from birth to carefree childhood, young love, a calling to amplify the voice of his people, the hatred he experienced for his commitment, the grief of his untimely death, and the power of his message. These works are joined by the world premiere of The Hymn! by Stacey V. Gibbs and an arrangement of Glory from the film Selma by Dr. Eugene Rogers.

The highly lauded and honored USD Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. David Holdhusen, bear a message of resilience to Navona Records with their newest release OUT OF THE ASHES, a collection of beloved choral works given a refreshing new voice. Featuring choral favorites like Biebl’s Ave Maria, Hogan’s Ain’t That Good News, and Whitacre’s Sleep, the Chamber Singers, like a phoenix, paint a narrative of rising from the ashes after a time of destruction, rising on the wings of a song. The artists wish that these recordings would provide comfort and reassurance after times of struggle, and offer a modicum of hope to those still facing great challenges of faith and courage. The Chamber Singers have given a new life to treasured gems of the choral repertoire and portray a bright future for artists and listeners alike.

BLOODY JACK from composer Michael Matthews is a cycle of 14 songs based on selected poems from Dennis Cooley’s 1984 collection by the same name. These poems draw upon the chilling story of John Krafchenko, a Hungarian immigrant to Canada who became a notorious outlaw at the turn of the 20th century. The music was originally composed between 2015 and 2017, and revised in 2020. Matthews dedicates this work to pianist Laura Loewen and vocalist Dawn Bruch, both of whom bring this release and its haunting harmonies to life.

TAPESTRY OF VOICES from Navona Records showcases the versatility and elegance of the human voice woven with grand orchestral statements, colorful choral arrangements, and intimate settings with piano. Eight contemporary composers offer settings of poetry and stories from various cultures throughout human history, from Africa to Europe, North America, and beyond. Threading modern takes on Greek mythology, meditations on concepts of loss, morality, and more, TAPESTRY OF VOICES is exactly as its title suggests — an intricate and artistic convergence of ideas that’s sure to entrance those who experience it.