This New Music Friday, Navona and Ravello Records present spirited and uplifting holiday works, modern expressions in art song, energetic contemporary classical pieces, and more.
Dive in and discover new music from Christopher J. Hoh, Sarah Wallin Huff, Emily Mitchell, Gary Schocker, Phillip Rhodes, Michael Roush, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, The Crossing, Brno Contemporary Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, The Harlem Chamber Players, Eric Allen, Jennifer Jolley, Richard Thompson, Ellaina Pauline Lewis, New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, and Paul Cohen.
DASHING VOL. 5
Christopher J. Hoh, Sarah Wallin Huff, Gary Schocker, Josef Suk, Phillip Rhodes, Michael Roush
On the hunt for a flurry of contemporary classical works to soundtrack your holiday season? Look no further than DASHING VOL. 5 from Navona Records. This installment of the series unwraps the spirited, uplifting, and grandiose qualities of classical holiday music, exploring new interpretations of mainstay melodies, sonic interpretations of snowfall, delicate carols, and more.
ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK: CHAMBER WORKS
Adolphus Hailstork, The Harlem Chamber Players
Adolphus Hailstork’s music blends African, American, and European traditions; there are parts that positively sound like something Shostakovich or Prokofiev might have written, perhaps echoes of Hailstork’s studies with Nadia Boulanger in the 1960s. There are moments of contemplation, but if this album is anything, it’s invigorating and profound.
SHIFTING DIRECTION
Texas Tech University Contemporary Music Ensemble, Eric Allen
Eric Allen conducts the Texas Tech University Contemporary Music Ensemble in SHIFTING DIRECTION, featuring works by composers Joan Tower, Jennifer Jolley, and Jennifer Higdon. Elevated by Allen’s precise conducting and careful attention to detail, this album provides three unique listening directions for contemporary music enjoyers to delight in.
LIFE’S SWEET SHADOWS
Richard Thompson, Ellaina Pauline Lewis, Joe Williams
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 liberator Joe Williams. Lewis gives a profoundly emotional performance, her rich timbre pronouncing the story within each song and elevating the complexities of Thompson’s compositional style.
NEW YORK RISING
Paul Cohen, The New Hudson Saxophone Quartet
Paul Cohen and The New Hudson Saxophone Quartet navigate works by several American composers on NEW YORK RISING, from the title track’s evocations of a young man’s excitement, curiosity, and determination in the Big Apple to arrangements of Aaron Copland’s Suite from Our Town and Simple Gifts.
