Axioms
Catalog #: NV6151
Release Date: April 13, 2018
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetAn 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.
The Life Before Us
Catalog #: NV6153
Release Date: April 13, 2018
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoVoiceBearing musical witness to the versatile talents of two acclaimed northern California-based composers, THE LIFE BEFORE US combines works from John G. Bilotta and Allan Crossman. Bilotta’s cycle of Yeats Songs, performed by baritone Andrew R. White, highlights five of the poet’s shorter lyrics in predominantly bi-tonal or atonal settings. His collection of Renaissance Songs is based on the work of several Elizabethan poets, including John Donne and Thomas Lodge (whose poem “Rosalynde” was the source of Shakespeare’s As You Like It). They’re brilliantly delivered by tenor Justin Marsh.
Light & Shadows, Waves & Time
Catalog #: NV6154
Release Date: April 13, 2018
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalClarinetSaxophoneWind EnsembleAn exploration of the unique timbral characteristics and technical extensions of wind instruments, Gregory Wanamaker’s LIGHT AND SHADOWS, WAVES AND TIME is comprised of eight compositions that collectively illustrate the composer’s ability to integrate various genre influences into a distinctive whole. His music has been lauded as “pure gold, shot through with tenderness and grace” by the San Francisco Chronicle and “achingly beautiful” by the Palm Beach Daily News.
My Ancestor’s Gift
Catalog #: NV6155
Release Date: April 13, 2018
21st CenturyChamberPiano TrioString OrchestraString QuartetOn his Navona Records debut, composer Carlos Simon masterfully combines influences from jazz, gospel, and neoromanticism. MY ANCESTOR’S GIFT incorporates spoken word and historic recordings to craft a multifaceted program of musical works that are inspired as much by the past as they are the present.
Moto Bello
Catalog #: NV6156
Release Date: May 11, 2018
21st CenturyChamberPiano TrioNavona Records and the acclaimed ensemble Trio Casals proudly present MOTO BELLO, the next chapter in the moving series that brought 2015’s MOTO CONTINUO and MOTO PERPETUO in 2013. Living up to its name, MOTO BELLO, or “beautiful motion,” is a collection celebrating the synergy of Trio Casals and the vibrant works of ten contemporary composers including Diane Jones, Beth Mehocic, David N. Stewart, Sidney Bailin, L Peter Deutsch, Giovanni Piacentini, Adrienne Albert, Clive Muncaster, Joanne D. Carey, and Bruce Babcock.
Notes to Loved Ones
Catalog #: NV6143
Release Date: March 9, 2018
21st CenturyChamberPianoString QuartetViolaUp-and-coming composer Peter Dayton makes his Navona Records debut with the release of Notes to Loved Ones, an album of works for piano and strings. Dayton’s style of composition is heavily influenced by people with whom he is fascinated and their works of art.
Exhaling Space
Catalog #: NV6145
Release Date: March 9, 2018
21st CenturyChamberGuitarSaxophoneString QuartetWith EXHALING SPACE, Alejandro Rutty and his cast of remarkable performers create one hour of fresh, captivating music combining Latin and world music styles with the classical tradition. With tracks like the futuristic tango Martian Milonga and the meditative More Music for Examining and Buying Merchandise, Rutty composes the album like a breathing exercise, taking in an anxious pace in one movement, and then in the next, letting the melodies exhale gently through the piece.
Ancestral Voices
Catalog #: NV6130
Release Date: November 10, 2017
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetNavona Records presents ANCESTRAL VOICES, the Apollo Chamber Players’ next installment in their 20x2020 project. 20x2020 is an initiative to commission 20 new folk music-inspired and multicultural works by the end of the decade. This fiery release comprises four 20x2020 works from composers Gilad Cohen, Arthur Gottschalk, Malek Jandali, and Javier Farias.
Ask the Moon
Catalog #: NV6133
Release Date: January 12, 2018
21st CenturyChamberPianoVoiceComposer 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.
No Enemy but Winter and Rough Weather
Catalog #: NV6134
Release Date: January 12, 2018
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicVoiceEven the most fearful of the cold will draw warmth from Joe Summer’s comforting NO ENEMY BUT WINTER AND ROUGH WEATHER, the sixth album honoring The Shakespeare Concerts Series, of which he is founder and executive director. Track 1 is Summer’s own Concert Overture for Piano, an icy introduction performed by SangYoung Kim. Following are two settings of “Under the Greenwood Tree.” Track 2 is the inviting setting by William Walton performed by soprano Kathryn Guthrie and pianist John McGinn. Alluring, too, is Track 3 the Erich Wolfgang Korngold setting of the text performed by Kim and mezzo-soprano Thea Lobo. Kim stays at the piano for Track 4—“When Birds Do Sing”—also by Korngold; Guthrie delivers this spritely tune.
The Myth of Tomorrow
Catalog #: NV6136
Release Date: January 12, 2018
21st CenturyChamberElectronicGuitarPianoComposer Eric Klein immediately engages the listener with the mysteriousness of “Nettles,” a quartet for piano, violin, cello, and clarinet. This track’s rhythmic dexterity hints at Klein’s background as a film/media composer, foreshadowing the complexity of the dark, ethnographic “Myth of Tomorrow,” an exploration of the keyboard percussion instruments and the distinctive aspects of the harp.
Young Prometheus
Catalog #: NV6140
Release Date: February 9, 2018
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalClarinetPianoString QuartetInspired by poetry and prose, composer Mark Volker’s latest release YOUNG PROMETHEUS is about reactions. From the philosophical reaction to the “Three Quotations" to the physical reactions in “Echoes of Yesterday," Volker creates an atmosphere that both conveys the optimistic and ominous.
Music for Woodwinds
Catalog #: NV6127
Release Date: November 10, 2017
21st CenturyChamberPianoWind EnsembleNavona Records proudly presents MUSIC FOR WOODWINDS from composer Scott Pender, his fourth appearance on the label. On this album, Pender showcases his chamber works for woodwinds from the last thirty years in ensemble combinations both common and unfamiliar.
Skyborn
Catalog #: NV6128
Release Date: November 10, 2017
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalChoirPianoString QuartetShocking, gripping, and thought-provoking, Mara Gibson's new album SKY-BORN conjures a flurry of emotions through its moody music. In one moment, the busy strings create a fury of anxious, energetic sounds; the next, the strike of a lone piano chord paints a brooding soundscape.
Formika
Catalog #: NV6129
Release Date: February 9, 2018
21st CenturyChamberPianoSaxophoneWind EnsembleMexican composer Felipe Pérez Santiago introduces the follow up to his 2013 album, Mantis with his first Navona release, FORMIKA, an album of chamber music. Pérez Santiago continues his series with a vast notational layering and timing propelled by traditional instrumentation. Masterful playing by choice ensembles like Tamayo and Onix, create a particularly kaleidoscopic nostalgia in this pitching album.
Quickening
Catalog #: NV6121
Release Date: September 8, 2017
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicPianoBritish composer Robert Hugill’s new release QUICKENING is an enthralling and intimate showcase of contemporary art song. Across the album, Hugill demonstrates an exceptional sensitivity to text and melody, both of which shine through his clear and lyrical musical language. The four sets of songs on the album are consummate modern lieder, and one can easily imagine hearing them at a private vocal recital alongside the Romantic song cycles of the nineteenth century.
The Sea Knows
Catalog #: NV6111
Release Date: July 14, 2017
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalCelloViolaViolinMichael Kurek’s PARMA Recordings debut, THE SEA KNOWS, is a charming collection of works written with an emphasis on that which is beautiful and emotive. Composing in a tonal idiom reminiscent of the great melodists of the early 20th century, Kurek creates music that tugs at the heartstrings without ever pandering, that is rich in emotive content without feeling sugary. The works on THE SEA KNOWS plumb the depths of musical sensitivity and will appeal to anyone who listens to music seeking intimacy and an emotionally-grounded experience.
Ascend
Catalog #: NV6112
Release Date: July 14, 2017
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalClarinetElectroacousticString QuartetASCEND, 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.
Fleeting Realms
Catalog #: NV6107
Release Date: September 8, 2017
21st CenturyChamberPercussionPianoSaxophoneFLEETING REALMS is an inviting compilation of chamber music featuring six composers. Though the album obviously mixes different compositional voices, the different pieces share many characteristics. FLEETING REALMS is defined by a pervasive uplifting quality. Many of the album’s works feature driving rhythms and a joyfully relaxed sensibility. Even dissonance is used playfully or as a counter weight to beautiful lyricism. Such consistency in manner across six pieces by six diverse composers is obviously remarkable, and it makes FLEETING REALMS a very special musical collection.