Period: 21st Century

Composer Mark Dal Porto's award-winning, neo-Romantic Song of Eternity for Orchestra starts off THE MUSIC OF MARK DAL PORTO in epic fashion. If Mahler and Prokofiev had collaborated on a composition, it would probably have sounded a lot like this: pensive, evocative, and nostalgic. Song of Eternity describes the eternal renewal of nature with cinematic impact. It is inspired by an ancient Chinese poem, as is the next piece, I Seek Rest for My Lonely Heart for A-Cappella Choir. This work continues the subject of nature, albeit in a more individualized fashion, capturing the sentiment of a distressed soul in search of peace in a pastoral setting.

VOICES OF EARTH AND AIR VOL II presents the best that modern choral compositions have to offer. Settings of traditional prayers are mingled with ethereal stories and otherworldly visions, and each of the eight compositions both stand unique and work together harmoniously to create a collection that nods to the future of choral music.

Composer Michael G. Cunningham introduces the beauty of sacred choral compositions with the unique energy of the live recording. “Ecumenical” is defined as the promotion of unity among different Christian churches across the world, and ECUMENICAL SPIRIT celebrates the unifying powers of music as it transcends the borders of all differences.

Characterized by a unique style of instrumentation and experimentation with formality, VIRTUOSITY is the colorful expression of composer John Robertson's symphonic creativity. VIRTUOSITY combines a clarinet and a trumpet concerto, a symphony, and an orchestral fantasy based on a Maori love story – all on one album.

Composed almost entirely in 2018 and performed by composer Giovanni Piacentini, the music on BETWEEN WORLDS serves as a brand-new snapshot of a musician's prowess at the height of his creative capabilities. In an age where the musician-composer is a dying breed in the realm of so-called "serious" music, Piacentini brings a breath of fresh air in a multitude of ways. There is no doubt that his astounding technical skill as a guitarist deeply informs his compositions, and the effect is nothing short of breathtaking. Strikingly, even when employing modern elements – such as adding electronics – Piacentini resolutely resists the temptation of putting trendy, cheap showmanship over the soul of the music. The guitar, the mainspring of musical expression, remains paramount and prominent, always. And, thanks to the composer's talent for lyricism, structure, and depth, this pays off. Immensely.

On September 2, 1998, 229 passengers and crew members lost their lives when Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Nova Scotia. Composer Matt Frey, who identified with the Swissair tragedy due to his own brush with a plane malfunction, explores the human relationship to air travel while also commemorating the lives lost in the chamber opera ONE-ELEVEN HEAVY.

Introducing the album is Lee Actor’s Duo for Violin and Cello. The track, which won the Eva Thompson Phillips Award for Composition in 1979, is a short, textured, and powerful piece. In ABA form, the energy of the stringed instruments swings like a parabola from the height of sharp, angular rhythms down into deep and gentle expressions and builds up to a sharp, explosive climax.

Beginning with just the spark to write three trios, composer Carl Vollrath created an intense yet reflective collection of works in SOULS IN TRANSITIONS. This Navona Records release moves through waves of contemplation on life, history, and the evolution of spirituality through the performances of violin, cello, and piano by acclaimed pianist Karolina Rojahn.

Mark John McEncroe, who started his musical training in his late 30's, had always exhibited a varied, profound interest in music – one that led him to work as a major music label manager over the course of two decades. No doubt that it was partially this section of his professional career which formed the basis of his personal compositional language. Unimpeded by the constrictions of a musical academic career, he developed a style which is unapologetically concrete and evocative.

PARMA Recordings, together with the esteemed Croatian Chamber Orchestra, is proud to release BENEATH THE TIDE, a reflection on human emotion and experience through a collection of five concertos. As the title suggests, BENEATH THE TIDE looks under the surface, examining underlying human realities that rise to the surface with the arrival of life’s changes.

Sergio Cervetti, born in Uruguay, immigrated to the United States in 1962 to study contemporary composition, and his work contains a certain cosmopolitan quality reflective of his past and present. Although essentially a minimalist since 1970, he has branched out to embrace and incorporate diverse elements from a variety of aesthetics. The versatile creator understands how to pull the virtually unimaginable from its metaphysical realm into the here and now, a sudden manifestation of spirituality transcending dissonance. Ever-present is the nexus of nature and science, of the mundane and the miraculous.

The idea for THE JOHN PSATHAS PERCUSSION PROJECT: VOLUME ONE began in 2013 with John Psathas’ piano and gamelan piece Waiting: Still which Omar Carmenates arranged for percussion trio. While unknown at the time, this arrangement launched a five-year-long relationship that culminates in Carmenates’ debut for PARMA Recordings. For THE JOHN PSATHAS PERCUSSION PROJECT: VOLUME ONE, Carmenates acts as arranger, director, and performer, and is joined by a roster of talented musicians including pianist Daniel Koppelman and drum set soloist Justin Alexander.

The Bonifantes Boys Choir showcases the best of the best of the Czech boy singers and composer Jan Jirásek over the past 20 years. WHEN THE SOUL SPEAKS demonstrates the abilities of both the ensemble and its leaders through the performance of Latin Christian masses, Buddhist mantras and Quran excerpts, and traditional Czech hymns -- together presenting the idea that different religions and cultural customs can stand together side by side.

Composer Garth Baxter calls his commitment to form and aesthetic "modern traditionalism." And indeed, his new album RESISTANCE may just offer the best of both worlds in one captivating experience. Each piece has certain features in common: they are immediately, intuitively accessible to the listening ear, and all of them draw upon Baxter's ability to evoke sincere emotions with every note.

Within their varied appearances and sounds, the piano, vibraphone, and marimba make up a unique family. Nonetheless, key similarities bind them together, and SUSTAIN explores just that. The latest multi-composer release by Navona Records, SUSTAIN presents works for various keyboards that explore not only the abilities of each instrument, but the varied approaches from five different composers.

Composer David Carpenter’s PARMA debut, FROM THE VALLEY OF BACA, features three works that illustrate the expansive scope of his compositional style. From the lyrical Trio, to the powerfully poetic title work for baritone and piano, to the romantically-inclined Sonata, FROM THE VALLEY OF BACA demonstrates the composer’s ability to express his artistic vision in a wide variety of musical genres.

Composer Richard Thompson’s three-act opera presents the life behind the name of Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the most prominent African American poets of the early 20th Century. This dramatic performance, inspired by the hundreds of letters exchanged between Dunbar and his wife, Alice Ruth Moore, removes the masks of fame and social identity to investigate the psychological realities of the people underneath.

Despite the frequent crescendos to the sonic peaks of each composition, RENMEN LAMENTS is an exploration into the valleys of the soul. For most, creating art in the realm of somber moods poses challenges. For the Renaissance Men, the melancholic nature of their musical exploration is not only achieved individually but shared amongst the talents of the vocalists.

Acclaimed piano four-hand duo Dana Muller and Gary Steigerwalt come together once more for IN YOUR HEAD, a collection featuring the work of six composers that highlights both fresh compositional talents and earlier successful works. Each piece demonstrates the unique synergy between the two performers. With twice the hands, twice the talent, and twice the interpretation, the piano is pushed to dynamic and sonoric extremes.

Pan-Fare, the album's starting point, is a rare modern classical piece for steel pan and a motley, jazz-inflected ensemble. Fun, energetic, and brimming with rhythmic imagination, it is set against an original percussive backdrop provided by, among others, a vibraslap, a marimba, and a Chinese opera gong.