Catalog

Composer Cecil Price Walden says that Hours “is a journey through a dark night of the soul,” with inspiration taken from the Book of Hours — an exact guide for how and when to pray. Born in 1991, Walden draws on the rich musical, literary, and culinary legacies of the South to create work that is both familiar and new. Mezzo-soprano Alice Anne Light is known for her expressive, limpid singing and sound technique across a broad variety of repertoire. She is a frequent performer on the opera stage, in musical theater, and in recital. She is on the faculty of Texas Tech University.

In this contemporary reimagining of Wilhelm Müller’s poetry cycle Winterreise — most famously set by Schubert — an everyman at the end of his rope confronts his inner demons in an emotionally charged vocal tour de force. Composer Douglas J. Cuomo is known for his concert, operatic, theatrical, television, and film compositions. His music is influenced by jazz, world music, classical and popular sources, as well as his spiritual practice as a Buddhist. Along with the operas Doubt, and Arjuna’s Dilemma, he has written for the London Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, Romero Guitar Quartet, Joe Lovano, Denyce Graves, Christine Brewer, Nels Cline, Maya Beiser and others. He composed the theme for Sex & the City and scored over 20 feature films.

Saloons, Salons, and Salutations is a musical journey through the American West and the salons of Europe, weaving together the diversity of female voices across different eras and styles. These eclectic — sometimes irreverent — compositions, brought to life by soprano Serena Hill LaRoche and pianist Catherine Garner, pay homage to the creativity and innovation of women in the world of classical music. Serena Hill LaRoche has earned praise for her "power, virtuosity and elegance" with "a thrilling instrument at the top of its range." An active concert artist she has performed as a recitalist, opera singer, and soloist with orchestras. She was a 2003 finalist in the Southeast Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions and the 2006 Artist of the Year with FBN Productions, Inc. LaRoche studied at the University of South Carolina and the University of North Alabama. She is on the faulty of the University of South Carolina. Her collaborator, pianist Catherine Garner is on the faculty at Appalachian State University. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Florida State University, and Louisiana State University.

British born composer Clara Kathleen Rogers spent most of her compositional life in Boston where she contributed to the role the Second New England School played in the development of American classical music. She trained as an opera singer and studied piano with Ignaz Moscheles and Hans von Bülow. This recording provides a survey of 24 art songs showcasing Rogers' range of musical styles and influences. Admired by Opera News as "a superb singing actor with a clear, ringing instrument and peerless diction," tenor Bryon Grohman has received international recognition for performances of opera, oratorio, and ensemble repertoire. He studied at Indiana University as well as the New England Conservatory of Music and is currently on the faculty at Wake Forest University. Pianist Peter Kairoff has performed throughout the US, Europe, South America, and Asia and has seven recordings in his discography. He is also on the faculty at Wake Forest University.

Rendezvous in the Salon invites you to experience a collection of performances that explore the rich and vibrant world of American art song. The recording includes world premiere performances of three cycles by Steve Danyew, Roger C. Vogel, and David Leisner as well as a cycle by Ned Rorem. Soprano Natalie Mann is an active recitalist, concert soloist, and opera singer. She received a Metropolitan Opera Encouragement Award and was the winner of the Audience Favorite Award in the David W. Scott Memorial Competition and the Hawaii Public Radio International Art Song Competition. She is a graduate of Butler University, the University of Wollongong, and Indiana University. She is joined on this recording by pianists Tali Tadmor, Catherine Miller, and bassoonist Bruce Magnum.

A magical new recital featuring the world-première recording of Britten’s only Russian-language cycle The Poet’s Echo in the English-language translation that Peter Pears crafted during the period of the cycle’s composition in Yerevan, Armenia (1965). Tenor Justin Vickers and pianist John Orfe essay important performances of Britten’s Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo alongside Britten’s mysterious Goethe setting, “Um Mitternacht” (1960). This rich recital release introduces two additional world-première song cycles composed for Vickers. In the Six Chinese Songs (2019-2020) composed by Colin Matthews in memory of the tenor’s father John E. Vickers (1942–2017), we hear Matthews’s reflections on his own musical father, Britten, for whom Matthews served as the last musical assistant. In John David Earnest’s Songs of Hadrian (2014), we enter the world of second-century Roman Emperor Hadrian and his love and ultimate grief and madness over his eromenos Antinous. The disc concludes with a work Vickers uncovered in the Britten–Pears Library in its world-première recording: the “Epilogue” (1945) to The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, which Britten cut from the cycle. This is a recording that is a must-have for Britten devotees and finds American tenor Justin Vickers at the top of his craft, accompanied by one of America’s most accomplished pianists in John Orfe (of the acclaimed ensemble Alarm Will Sound).

Composer James Adler calls this recording a celebration — a celebration of his love for composing musical theater and art songs. Performed by a stellar group of singers from both the musical theater and classical art song world, the songs underscore Adler's affinity for putting the spoken word to music. Known as a renowned pianist as well as a composer, Adler has performed across the U.S. as well as internationally. Sung by cabaret singer Shana Farr, Broadway stars Michael Buchanan, Kennedy Kanagawa, and Perry Sook, Metropolitan Opera star Victoria Livengood, and classically trained Elizaveta Ulakhovich, this stellar group brings these songs to life.

This recording of hybrid vocal selections highlights the works of seven prominent 21st century composers who blur the lines between opera, classical art song, and other musical genres. This is music that is as appropriate to major concert halls as it is to nontraditional spaces. Sequina DuBose is a stunning performer most noted for her engaging stage presence — whether performing operatic roles, or as soprano soloist in Wynton Marsalis' work, All Rise. She has toured internationally as a soloist with The American Spiritual Ensemble and with Damien Sneed and Chorale Le Chateau. Dr. DuBose is on the faculty at UNC Charlotte. She is joined by pianist Gregory Thompson, known for his work as a solo and collaborative artist in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Tenor Jos Milton comments that "This program is an artistic tribute to the human connection to the earth. I searched for planet-centered texts that bring focus to the grandeur of our world, transmitted through contemporary art song." Composers include Robert Owens (1925-2017); Ned Rorem (b. 1923); Zachary Wadsworth (b. 1983); Srul Irving Glick (1934-2002); and Libby Larsen (b. 1950). Jos Milton maintains a robust performance schedule, spanning a vast array of repertoire and musical styles. A graduate of Trinity University, the University of Massachusetts, and the Peabody Institute, Milton is on the faculty at the University of Mississippi. His collaborator, pianist Melinda Coffey Armstead has performed as recitalist and chamber musician in the U.S., Canada, England, France, Israel, and Japan.

Composer Eric Schorr says that the poems he chose for the compositions on this recording were ones that immediately resonated with him emotionally and musically. The range of the poems’ styles and subject matter necessitated a varied musical vocabulary. Always lyrical, the music veers from romantic to jazz to chanson to bossa nova. Schorr expanded the palette of sound by adding a chamber sized acoustic orchestra to his original scoring for voice and piano. Schorr composes music for theater, television, and film as well as art songs. He studied at the New England Conservatory, Yale and Harvard. He is a recipient of a Japan-United State Arts Program Fellowship and Opera-Musical Theatre Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Critically acclaimed singers Eve Gigliotti, Jesse Darden, and Michael Kelly are the featured performers on this recording.

Don Walker's fifth release on Albany Records features songs he has written using the poetry of Anne Bradstreet, Phyllis Wheatley, Helen Hunt Jackson, Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, Harrie Alley, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. Walker taught at Sonoma State University, the University of South Florida, and Oregon State University. The music is performed by soprano Ann Moss, who is a graduate of the Longy School and the San Francisco Conservatory. An ardent advocate for contemporary music, she has been responsible for the commissioning and premieres of more than 80 art songs, vocal chamber music, and operatic roles. She is joined by pianist Karen Rosenak, a longtime member of the Empyrean Ensemble, and a founding member of the new music ensemble Earplay.

Born in 1895, American composer Ernest Charles became known to the public through one of his early songs that was popularized by Metropolitan Opera superstar John Charles Thomas and other songs followed that were found on voice recitals of singers like Kirsten Flagstad and Eileen Farrell. Baritone Nicholas Provenzale, a present-day champion of this composer’s songs, says that they exhibit a perfect blend of accessibility and musical interest. Provenzale enjoys an active career as a recitalist, opera singer, and educator. The recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions award, he is currently on the faculty at West Chester University. Mr. Provenzale’s collaborator on this recording is pianist Terry Klinefelter.

Adolphus Hailstork's interest in the voice dates back to childhood, when he became a member of a boys' cathedral choir in Albany, New York. This recording of his songs is the first volume of a series and includes his first set of songs, Lollipops, written in 1959. Hailstork utilizes a variety of styles in his song writing, changing style to suit the texts. Soprano Louise Toppin has received acclaim for her performances throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, South America, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. Her discography includes 17 recordings of music by American composers. A professor of voice at the University of Michigan, Ms. Toppin is director of the George Shirley Vocal Competition and the non-profit organization, Videmus. Her collaborators include pianist John O'Brien, harpist Lydia Cleaver, double bassist Rick Robinson, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Julius P. Williams, conductor.

This recording is of a newly composed Chinese art song cycle by two renowned Chinese cultural figures -- composer Cong Liu and poet Yujuan Li. The cycle consists of 24 songs, each representing one of the 24 solar terms. The cycle depicts the traditional Chinese solar terms and their representative agricultural folk traditions, with the short Chinese poems describing the human activities and cultural changes to the landscape through the seasons. Composer Cong Liu is on the faculty at Shenyang Conservatory of Music and is the director of multiple music institutions and symphony orchestras. His compositional style combines Western techniques with Chinese folk song elements. Poet Yujuan Li has written more than 1,000 texts in various styles and she has won more than 100 national awards. Soprano Xingyu Huo is completing her DMA at the University of Iowa. She has performed with opera companies in Italy and concertized in China, Austria, Italy, and the United States.

This recording of the art songs of Elaine Ross, set to poetry by women, seeks to broaden the interest in the compositions of living female composers. Elaine Ross is President and CEO of the newly founded Southern Atlantic Conservatory of Music, set to open in 2025. She has been on the faulty at Morgan State University, Towson University, Ohio University, and the Colburn Conservatory. Her music has been performed in France, Germany, and Israel, as well as the United States. Soprano Theresa Bickham, praised for her "fine piano nuances" and "expressive legato line" has performed around the world as an opera singer and as a recitalist. A graduate of the University of Maryland College Park, the University of Houston, and Towson University, she is on the faculty at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Sheila Silver has written in a wide range of mediums, from solo instrumental to large orchestral works, from opera to feature film scores. She is the recipient of numerous awards and commissions, including an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Composer Award, the Rome Prize, and the Prix de Paris, among many others. She is Professor Emeritas of Music at Stony Brook University. This recording features song cycles including Beauty Intolerable, based on the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay, and a cycle using fragments of texts from Sappho, along with a nocturne for solo piano. The stellar cast of performers includes Lucy Fitz Gibbon, Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish, Ryan McCullough, Stephanie Blythe, Kayo Iwama, Sidney Outlaw, Warren Jones, Deanne Meek, Christopher Cooley, Risa Renae Harman, and Timothy Long.

We Are, recorded by the Miami University Men's Glee Club is a continuation of their initiative to advance the male choral art through repertoire written in the 21st century. The music included on this recording, written by nearly all living composers, expresses a variety of musical offerings with a diverse palate of colors, techniques, and styles that focus on the resiliency of the human spirit. The Miami University Men's Glee Club has maintained a longstanding tradition of musical excellence and, through its artistry, passion, and relevancy, this recording is no exception. Founded in 1907, the chorus has toured 19 states and 11 countries and has appeared in concert at numerous conferences of professional choral organizations. Under the leadership of conductor Jeremy D. Jones, the group has won awards and critical acclaim, including First Place and Overall Grand Champion awards at the Concours Européen de Chant Choral in Luxembourg. This is their second recording on Albany Records.

Joseph Marx (1882-1964) was a bit of a musical late-bloomer. He earned a doctorate in 1909, having studied philosophy, art history, and German studies, and only later adding musicology. Castigated for his seeming cooperation with the Nazis, he also spoke out against the avant-garde, which he believed had ushered in the decay of Austrian musical culture. Among his works, there is a trove of more than 150 songs. In their time, his songs were loved and championed by famous Austrian singers but he and his music came to be largely ignored. Soprano Kendra Colton is a versatile singer who performs repertoire from Baroque opera and oratorio to contemporary music and enjoys an active performing career. Pianist Laura Ward is co-artistic director of Lyric Fest and is a distinguished collaborative pianist.

Composer and conductor Robert Pound's numerous compositions include orchestral works for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Columbus Symphony Orchestra and chamber works for ensembles including the Corigliano Quartet and Deviant Septet. A graduate of the University of North Texas and The Juilliard School, Pound was music director of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra. He is on the faculty at Dickinson College where he teaches composition and conducts the orchestra. This recording features three of his song cycles, which were commissioned in coordination with the awarding of The Stellfox Prize to the poets Maxin Kumin, Seamus Heaney, and Paul Muldoon, whose texts Pound set. Performed by tenor William Ferguson and baritone Jonathan Hays with pianist Craig Ketter, these song cycles pay magnify, reinforce and elaborate the affect of the poetry and its meaning.

French composer Charles-Marie Widor is best known for his works for organ, but he also wrote operas, a sizable body of ballet music, and various other vocal and orchestral works. This recording highlights some of his forgotten songs, performed by soprano Rebecca Wascoe Hays, bass Allen Saunders, soprano Nicole Leupp Hanig, and pianist Susan McDaniel. Ms. Hays, who champions American composers in her performances, is on the faculty at Texas Tech University and is artistic director of Music in the Marche, an opera training program for young singers located in Mondavio, Italy. Saunders, in addition to his active performance schedule, is on the faculty at Northern Arizona University School of Music. Ms. Hanig has performed in the U.S., as well as Europe and Japan, and now is artistic director of Opera on the Bluff and on the faculty at the University of Portland. McDaniel, also on the faculty at the University of Portland, has appeared widely as a solo and collaborative pianist.

With this recording, soprano Michelle Murray Fiertek presents a collection of songs lovingly grown in the American tradition, which audibly draw influence from domestic genres like folk and musical theatre. The diverse selection of poetry channels American landscapes, both great and small, and these images illustrate not only America's unique topography, but also a steadfast cultural appreciation of its singularity. Ms. Fiertek is an active performer and teacher of wide-ranging musical styles. An accomplished recitalist, Fiertek specializes in Spanish and American art song. A member of the faculty at The Hartt School and Manchester Community College, she also serves as executive director of the Hartford Opera Theater. Her collaborator, pianist Michael Korman, performs in opera productions and recitals as well as coaching classical singers and directng music at a church.

Let Evening Come: American Songs Old and New collects the songs of three American composers, stretching across time and a variety of styles. The early 20th-century pianist Frank La Forge was an accompanist to the greatest singers of his era, but also found time to write beautiful and effective art songs for his collaborators to perform in concert. Robert Spillman is a modern counterpart to La Forge, having worked for years as a pianist and opera conductor before returning to composition in retirement. His songs lie at the heart of this disc, capturing the inspiration of an intriguing group of poets. From the nature-inspired ruminations of Sara Teasdale and Jane Kenyon to the comic world of Alice N. Persons, Spillman's songs are moving, and in some cases, sly and amusing. Well-known opera and song composer Lori Laitman is represented by two stirring arias from her 2016 opera The Scarlet Letter.

This recording emerged from a series of personal Scottish connections of tenor Justin Vickers; his Scottish heritage; his collaboration with Scottish pianist Geoffrey Duce; and his scholarly work with Jennifer Oates on the composer Hamish MacCunn. The first recording of MacCunn's Cycle of Six Love-Lyrics, is paired with a selection of his other songs, along with works by Scottish composer Judith Weir, and Britten's cycles set to the poetry of Robert Burns. Justin Vickers has a distinguished career as a recitalist, opera singer, chamber musician, and educator. He is on the faculty of Illinois State University, Normal. His collaborator Gretchen Church is on the faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington. Pianist Geoffrey Duce is on the faculty at Illinois State University.

As African Americans commemorate 400 years of Afrcans in America, the presence of the Negro Spritual remains a strong symbol and a significant tool through which Africans made their voices heard throughout these years of struggle. This CD is a compilation of many of these Spirituals, releases previously on Albany Records, which still stand strong even in today's world where in many instances it seems as if time has stood stil and the need for these precious gems still toll the bells of freedom. Bass-baritone Oral Moses performs regularly throughout the United States and Europe singing oratorio and recitals with special emphasis on a wide variety of Negro Spirituals and art song repertoire by African-American composers.

This recording of songs by Asian and Asian-American composers who include Ke-Chia Chen, who is on the faculty at the Curtis Institute; Taiwanese-American Chihchun Chi-sun Lee, the receipient of numerous honors and awards; Asako Hirabayashi, winner of the Alienor International Harpischord Composition Contest; Yangzhi Ma, faculty member at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing; and Chen Yi, Distinguished Professor at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. Tenor Brian Arreola is on the faculty at UNC Charlotte and has been a featured performer with opera companies around the United States. Baritone Kelvin Chan divides his time between the U.S. and the Netherlands, where he has an active career as a performer, director, theatre-maker, and singer-actor. Pianist Wei-En Hsu, a graduate of Juilliard, is now on the faculty of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

of death and the planets is a large song cycle by composer Jim Lahti, setting a poetry collection of the same name by John McEveety Woodruff. The work is, essentially, a 15-movement journey and over the course of approximately an hour and a half the listener will be transported through the solar system with occasional stops along the way for five departed souls with personal connections to Mr. Woodruff. Both the poems and the music are at times dramatic, poignant, sad, loving — and periodically whimsical. Passionate about music, di.vi.sion is an exciting group that seeks to move audiences. Formed in 1997 by violinist Kurt Briggs, the name is inspired by the group's flexibility to divide forces as needed and by their predisposition to commission new works using the musical form of division. Composer Jim Lahti's music has been heard in concerts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, London, and France as well as on radio stations in the U.S. and Canada. He is the 2018 recipient of the BRIO Award for excellence in music composition from the Bronx Council on the Arts. English-German tenor Rufus Müller has an active career performing for oratorio and opera and has worked with many of the world's leading conductor. Soprano Timothy Maureen Cole is a graduate of Westminster Choir College and Ithaca College. She has extensive performance experience in classical as well as musical theater repertoire.

French composer and pianist Cécil Chaminade (1857-1944) wrote approximately 400 compositions, including 125 songs. Dismissed by her male colleagues, she did make a mark through her French romantic style at the turn of the century. Though she is primarily known today for her solo piano compositions and her recordings for the gramophone, this recording illuminates a facet of her much overlooked mélodie oeuvre. The songs on this disc display not only Chaminade's adroit word pianting but also her ability to spin orchestral effects through her piano writing. Soprano Sooah Park has been praised by critics for her role as Oscan in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, saying, "Sooah Park shines as Oscar, and her singing is utterly delightful." (Houston Arts Week) She has performed as a recitalist and in opera around the world including performances in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Finland, South Korea, and the United States. On the faculty at the University of Texas at Tyler, she studied at Eastman and the University of Texas at Austin. Her collaborator, pianist Sang Woo Kang is an active performer who has presented masterclasses and recitals inmore than 25 countries. He pursues his career as a solo, orchestral, and chamber music performer while teaching at Providence College and Brown University.

Composer Kile Smith’s music is hailed by critics, performers, and audiences for its strong voice, sheer beauty, and “profoundly direct emotional appeal.” The recipient of numerous commissions, his music has performed throughout the U.S., in Europe, and the UK. Smith's very first works were art songs, and he has composed them throughout his career, having now written about 65 songs. For this recording, the performers are members of Lyric Fest, a Philadelphia based organization, whose mission is to bring people together through song and include mezzo-soprano Suzanne DuPlantis, tenor Jonas Hacker, soprano Jessica Lennick, baritone Daniel Teadt, clarinetist Doris Hall-Gulati and pianst Laura Ward, who is artistic director of Lyric Fest.

Daron Hagen is an award-winning composer, librettist, stage director, conductor, collaborative pianist, and essayist. He is the recipient of the 2015 American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Academy Award for “the artist who has achieved his singular voice.” His music is performed worldwide by the most prestigious orchestras, ensembles, and soloists. This recording features three of his song cycles performed by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Weiss and pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova. Ms. Weiss, a regular guest at Deutsche Opera Berlin has performed roles ranging from Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos) to Suzuki (Madama Butterfly). Currently on the faculty at Arizona State University, Ms. Weiss studied at the New England Conservatory, Tufts University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Mannes College of Music, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Ms. Wright-Ivanova is on the faculty at Keene State College and has performed throughout the US, Australia, the UK, Europe, Canada, China, and South America. She is a vocal coach at UMass Amherst and serves on the faculty at New England Conservatory's Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice.

In recent years, interest in Russian composer Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951) has surged. International festivals, conferences, and competitions dedicated to Medtner have taken place in Europe and Russia, with scholars and performers devoting greater attention to his work. This recording features Medtner's songs and a work for violin and piano. His songs interweave the piano and voice to enhance the music flow and to bring out the deep poetic meaning in each piece. The pianist, Sasha Burdin, has devoted a great deal of research to the piano works of Medtner with his DMA focused on Medtner. Soprano Rachel Joselson enjoys a distinguished career as an opera singer, recitalist, and teacher. She is currently on the faculty at the University of Iowa. This is her third recording for Albany Records. Violinist Scott Conklin, also on the faculty at the University of Iowa, is known for his "brilliance of tone and charismatic delivery." A champion of new music, his discography includes two recordings for Albany Records.

Two performers passionate about American art song -- soprano Mary Mackenzie and pianist Heidi Louise Williams perform a program of songs by John Harbison, James Primosch, Daniel Crozier and Ned Rorem. Mary Mackenzie, who has captured the attention of audiences throughout the United States, has been described by the New York Times as "a soprano of extraordinary agility and concentration," and the Boston Globe as "sensational." She has appeared as a recitalist, a soloist with orchestras and as a chamber musician with the best known ensembles in the U.S. Her discography includes recording on the Albany and Bridge record labels. Pianist Heidi Louise Williams has appeared in solo and collaborative recitals across North America, in Europe and Asia. She has been praised by New York critic Harris Goldsmith for her "impeccable soloistic authority" and Dazzling performances." On the faculty at Florida State University College of Music, her recording for Albany Records received rave reviews from critics.

This album of art songs seeks to center a repertoire that is often left on the margins and neglected on concert programs. The Reaction charts new territory in recording many previously unrecorded works by Black composers for the low male voice, and showcases a wide range of languages and styles that exist for this genre. Bass-baritone Carl DuPont is equally engaged in performing, teaching, and research. He has sung a wide range of roles with the Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Carolina, Opera Company of Brooklyn, and Cedar Rapids Opera, among many others. DuPont is a graduate of Eastman, Indiana University and the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. He is on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His collaborator, pianist Gregory Thompson, is on the faculty at Winston-Salem State University. He has performed as a solo and collaborative artist in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He is head of staff pianists for the University of Miami at Salzburg Summer Program.