Recorded June 10, 2019 at VPAC, Western Connecticut State [...]

Crossing folk music and modern serious music has a long tradition. American musical scholar Ketty Nez ventures a fresh take on this concept: Inspired by her own family's heritage, she artfully blends folk music of Central Europe and Turkey with her own modern compositional language. The result is THROUGH THE LIGHT. The album's titular work is a multi-faceted, emotionally fast-paced string quartet, drawing on fragments of folk music recorded by Béla Bartók in the early 20th century. The subsequent piece, 5 fragments in 3 is similarly inspired, but the setup changes to an unorthodox trio of soprano saxophone, viola and piano. THROUGH THE LIGHT is an impressive demonstration that a recentering into tradition can be rather daring.

DEAR FRIENDS & GENTLE HEARTS from Albany Records celebrates the decades-long friendship and shared mission of Louise Toppin and Darryl Taylor in promoting classical vocal music by Black composers. United by a common goal since their formative years at the University of Michigan and Aspen Music School, they have long championed underrepresented works through Toppin’s Videmus and Taylor’s African American Art Song Alliance. 

The majestic beauty of the night sky has been a perennial source of inspiration throughout history, spawning myths and tales that have endured for millennia. On SKY LEGENDS, composer David Owens transforms the ancient Greek constellations of the zodiac into miniatures for four-hand piano, turning the epic stories into colorful soundscapes.

Chasing Home Richard McKay, conductor; Kazuhiro Takagi, violin; Jesús Castro-Balbi, [...]