Catalog

As America's premiere writer of classical vocal works states, "...I embarked on the madness of a composer's career by writing songs...My singular reputation, such as it is, has always centered around song..." The present work is based on texts by 24 composers that "seem endemic to this autumnal moment, as I look back to a youth 'which foresaw in the light of a summer day the end of all life.'"

This series devoted to one of America’s most significant composers brings together 12 vocal works, all but one written in the last two decades. Most of the shorter selections were composed for the Works and Process at the Guggenheim series in New York, and were designed for programs honoring the various poets (Les Murray, John Ashbery, Derek Walcott, Stanley Kunitz and Paul Auster).

Jean Berger was a renowned German-American conductor and composer. Beyond composing, he was active as a coach, accompanist and musicologist. His choral works have been widely performed throughout America and Europe. Despite having composed 109 songs for solo voice, in diverse languages, from 1937 to 1992, it is only in recent years that they have been discovered and sung -- a performing gap that is closed by this recording. With much to offer the novice and professional singer, the music is vocally accessible and the poetry offers a wealth of moods and expressions for both the discerning performer and listener.

One of our most distinguished composers, Pultizer-Prize recipient John Harbison currently is Institute Professor at MIT and has composed chamber works, concertos, four Symphonies (with a Fifth scheduled for a first performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra) and the Metropolitan Opera commission The Great Gatsby (1999). This release features song cycles based on the works of one of the most prominent Italian 20th century poets, Eugenio Montale (1896-1981). His best known works, Cuttle-Fish Bones (1925-28), The Occasions (1939) and The Storm and Other Things (1956) mark some of the finest achievements in the trend known as Hermeticism. The role of poetry is the absolute realm of the word as prophetic tool, which allows the poet (and by extension humankind) to interpret the world of visible things. Harbison admired the work of Montale for more than a decade before embarking on Motetti di Montale, which was dedicated to the poet on his 85th birthday.

Richard Pearson Thomas is equally at home writing works for the concert hall and the stage (including the Off-Off Broadway hit "Parallel Lives") and "Ossessione" is his modern counterpart to the "standard" repertoire of 24 Italian Art Songs, with a re-examining of the texts casting them through a modern perspective. The first performance with John Muriello led to a collaboraton, including Thomas' unique adaptation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," displaying Muriello's remarkable abilities as a singing actor. As a novel bonus, this CD also includes their sparkling interpretations of classic pop songs about love such as Arlen's "That Old Black Magic" and Richard Rodgers' "Bewitched."

This recording is, in many respects, a unique and creatively conceived kaleidoscope of American culture presented through the expressions and influences of African Americans. Moses and Floyd offer exceptionally convincing interpretations of each song, with clear understanding of the nature and unique message contained in each. The diverse genres, art songs by African American composers and artful settings of spirituals, also include works written by other Americans who use idiomatically African American musical resources, and whose creative energies have been powerfully influenced by African American folk life. This is a delightful tapestry of works that comprise a cross section of musical personalities and compelling lyrical content.

An American original, John Jacob Niles was a composer, performer, and author. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1892, he came from a musical family. While working with a surveying team in eastern Kentucky as a teenager, he kept a notebook in which he recorded lyrics and music of old folk songs known in the area. Niles served as a U.S. Army pilot in World War I and made numerous reconnaissance flights until he suffered serious injuries in a plane crash. After the war he studied music at the University of Lyon, the Schola Cantorium in Paris and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He renewed his search for folk songs in Appalachia as he accompanied noted photographer Doris Ulmann on her travels. He composed and arranged more than 1,000 songs, many of them made famous by Jo Stafford. These songs of our American heritage are beautifully sung by Hope Koehler.

Argentinian-born Désirée Halac presents a beautifully performed recital of songs by Carlos Guastavino. The obituary written for The Guardian called Guastavino the most quietly distinctive voice in 20th century Argentinian music. His distillation of local folk elements into an avowedly romantic-nationalist idiom was unique and markedly different from his colleagues. Guastavino wrote some 300 works, more than half of them the delightful songs, often winsome or tinged with sadness, on which his reputation rests.

Highlighting this recording of vocal works by Harold Blumenfeld is his half-hour Baudelaire cycle for orchestra with baritone and mezzo coloratura, Vers Satanique, in a world premiere recording. The work was long in evolving, beginning life scored for three voices and instrumental ensemble. It was not until numerous reworkings that Blumenfeld was fully satisfied with the version you hear so magnificently performed. Harold Blumenfeld is a composer given to language, opera and the human voice as this recording so dramatically demonstrates.

The songs heard on this recording are the outgrowth of several recital projects by Valerie Errante and Jeffry Peterson. Both artists are professors of music at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and have collaborated with all of the composers whose works are represented. Richard Faith (b.1926) was professor of piano at the University of Arizona in Tucson until his retirement in 1988. John Downey, who died in 2004 was on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Henry Mollicone is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and is currently teaching at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont. Yehuda Yannay is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is the creator of more than 100 works for virtually all musical media. Stephen Paulus is one of America's most prolific and accomplished composers, with more than 200 works to his credit.

Drifts and Shadows: American Song for the New Millennium beckons us to an exhilarating journey--via these stimulating songs of integrity, substance and passion. Baritone Elem Eley has worked with each of the six composers. Their compositional styles range from aggressive, hyper-kinetic, and jazzy to compellingly melodious and richly harmonized. Eley enjoys an amazingly varied career, from opera, oratorio and recital to premieres of contemporary vocal works. A native of Georgia, he hold degrees in voice from Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and completed doctoral coursework at Indiana University. He is Professor of Voice at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.

The distinguished composer Carson Cooman writes,"The works on this disc date from an eleven year period (1997-2008) and were chosen to create an interrelated program of songs and piano pieces. As a composer who has always believed strongly in the need and importance of music for all purposes and the value of new music in everyday life, these small pieces are something I take every bit as seriously as writing a large-scale concerto or symphony. The overall intent is a life-affirming celebration of the American experience: emotional, physical, and natural." Cooman (b.1982) has an extensive catalogue of works in many forms, ranging from solo instrumental pieces to operas, and from orchestral works to hymn tunes. He is in continual demand for new commissions and his music has been performed on all six inhabited continents.

This program grew out of Stephen Swanson's frustration with the coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom and with his son's decision to enlist. He and his wife began researching song dealing with war and formulated a program of songs about the individuals involved in America's historic military conflicts, their friends and their families. The primary consideration was the texts rather than the settings. The fervent nationalistic patriotism of World War I; the intimate personal glimpses in to World War II; the satirical songs from the Cold War; the Vietnam-era protest songs; the setting of Abraham Lincoln's letter to a mother who lost five sons Ñ all demonstrate the conflict between the need to fight and the horrific losses war imposes.

Cary Ratcliff, a native of California, studied composition and piano at the Eastman School of Music. He says in his notes that, "Accompanying in the voice studio of the late Jan DeGaetani exposed me to depth of interpretation and commitment to the artsong tradition that plays in my head whenever I write songs....Composed over the years for many singers and occasions, my solo songs vary widely, but Katie [Kathryn Lewek] has taken on the lion's share of them and unified them under her wide-ranging and vibrant artistry."

These are first recordings of two dramatic works by American composer Thomas Pasatieri. Written for Beverly Sills, Before Breakfast dates from 1978 and has an unusual history (including having the original score accidentally thrown in the trash by the maid). After an unsuccessful performance the score was put away and it wasn't until 2002 that it was revived and revised for Lauren Flanagan. Flanagan was the inspiration for Lady Macbeth and premiered the work in 2008 with the forces on this recording.

Born in New York City, Alan Seidler studied at The Juilliard School, but after leaving Juilliard, his career took a left turn and he soon became one of the pioneers of the Blues and Ragtime revival of the 1970s. The most successful of his recordings from this era was The Duke of Ook, which became and still remains a cult classic. In the late 1980s he returned to composition and in the past decade, he has focused primarily on vocal and choral works.

For her third recording on Albany Records, Lisa comments: "This album presents a number of songs I wrote both on my own and in partnership with some terrific musicians with whom I have performed over many years..." New songs written for this album include Manhattan Under the Paris Moon, In the Shadow of a Crow and I Don't Believe in Romance. Kirchner performs an international jazz repertoire embracing American standards, French classics and Brazilian music. She is a singer, songwriter and actress equally at home in clubs and in theatre.

The 11 works on this compact disc represent four generations of American composers and a compositional time span of eight decades. In the ensemble repertoire for voice and flute, only Corigliano's Three Irish Folksong Settings and Copland's As It Fell Upon a Day enjoy wide recognition; the remaining works are relatively unknown and deserving of a broader audience. The artists comment: "In selecting music for this disc we sought works that define skillful text setting and showcase contrasting compositional styles. Just as American "character" defies definition because of its rich cultural blend, the American musical "style" comprises myriad voices--each distinct in its conviction." Five of these compositions are world premiere recordings Ñ Martin Amlin's Two Songs on Poems of Anne Fessenden; Kenneth Gaburo's Cantilena One for solo soprano; Braxton Blake's Three Songs on Poems by Marianne Moore; Ralph Shapey's Lullaby; Scott Gendel's Patterns; and Kurt Stallmann's Lumina II for solo flute.

Lee Hoiby is widely recognized as one of the most significant composers in the genre of the American art song -- a genre to which he has been contributing for more than half a century. His affinity for setting texts of great literary value, and of considerable variety, is evident in the songs recorded here. From the haunting melodies of Winter Song to the tongue-in-cheek drama of Jabberwocky; from the biting ironies of The Message to the sweet simplicity of The Shepherd; and from the densely chromatic textures of Evening to the charming humor of The Serpent -- Hoiby's prodigious gifts for lyricism, atmosphere, and characterization as a song composer are much in evidence in this collection. Exquisitely performed by Ursula Kleinecke-Boyer and Maria Perez-Goodman, this is the only recording available dedicated exclusively to Hoiby's songs.

The release of So Many Journeys marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare's sonnets. This recording, performed by members of The Shakespeare Concerts, contains two of the 26 sonnets set by composer Joseph Summer, an unabashed Oxfordian, as well as pieces from his opera Hamlet. The Sonata is a set of variations based on a baritone aria from Summer's opera Courting Disaster.

The performers, Mary Nessinger, mezzo-soprano and Jeanne Golan, piano asked ten American composers from a variety of backgrounds to write songs in response to the ten individual songs that make up two visionary cycles from the cusp of the last century, Claude Debussy's Trois Chansons de Bilitis and Alban Berg's Sieben Frühe Lieder. The juxtapositions between the commissioned songs range from natural progressions to shocks of contrast in a way that the performers had not imagined, but that honor the pacing of the original cycles to an uncanny extent.

Lori Laitman, one of America's most prolific and widely performed composers of art song comments: "The songs on this CD are for solo voice and piano, and all have been composed since 2000, making them 21st century art song. The poems were written between 1612 and 2008...My goal is to create dramatic music to express and magnify the meaning of the poem...Each song becomes my musical interpretation of the poem."

The texts for this magnificent oratorio, The Revelations of Divine Love, are adapted primarily from the writings of Julian of Norwich (c. 1342-1416); an excerpt from the Book of Margery Kempe; two poems by Robert Herrick and one by Elizabeth Kirschner. The primary concept underlying this oratorio is the presence of two distinct discourses. One is a sequence taken from Julian's religious visions and the other is a "sonic geography" of Nantucket Island.

Composer Tom Cipullo's works have been heard at major concert halls on four continents, from San Francisco to Tel Aviv, from Stockholm to La Paz. He has received numerous commissions and awards including fellowships from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony and the Copland House, among many others. He was honored for his contributions to the American art song repertoire with a retrospective concert given by Joy in Singing in 2000. The works on this disc span almost two decades with the first, The Land of Nod, being written in 1993.

The Young Debussy comprises the songs composed by Claude Debussy before his 30th birthday that he felt were good enough to publish. The vocal writing varies, but in most of them there is the emphasis on the middle and low range characteristic of much French vocal music. Darren Chase sings all of the songs in the composer's original keys. Recordings of Debussy's songs now go back more than 100 years but the large majority feature sopranos or mezzos with the rest sung by lyric baritones. This is the first recording since 1975 where this repertoire is sung by a tenor and as such offers an enlightening experience of this music.

Countertenor Darryl Taylor and pianist Brent McMunn have assembled a superb selection of classics from the still growing corpus of spirituals, including a number of arrangements by key figures in the history of black musical composition. With this project, Taylor and McMunn contribute powerfully to the continuous translation of this aged music from oral tradition to written composition Ñ from folksong to art song. Darryl Taylor has sung in concert halls across the United States and Europe. A native of Detroit, Taylor holds degrees from the University of Southern California and the University of Michigan. He is on the faculty at the University of California, Irvine.

What unites this fascinating disc of song cycles is the poetry of Constantin Cavafy (1863-1933), a beloved Greek poet. The four composers have offered their personal musical response to his art. Baritone John Muriello has maintained a varied performing career in opera, operetta, musical theatre and concert work. He has concertized in London, Moscow and throughout the U.S. and has performed at international contemporary music festivals. A voice teacher at the University of Iowa, he is joined by his colleague, composer/pianist David Gompper.

The two works on this recording are concerned with time-cycles: Book of Hours with the ordering of days, Helian with the changing of seasons. Book of Hours uses the medieval Book of Hours, a devotional book containing prayers and psalms, for its structure while Helian is a setting of a poem by Georg Trakl and is concerned with years, not days. Active as a composer, conductor and pianist, Jeremy Gill studied at the Eastman School of Music and at the University of Pennsylvania. He has received awards from BMI, ASCAP, Meet the Composer and the American Symphony Orchestra League. He is Music Director of the Delaware County Symphony. This is the second release on Albany Records devoted to his music.

This CD presents songs by some of America's reigning composers, many known for their cross-genre writing, including jazz, pop, classical, folk and art songs written with distinguished authors for concert, theatre and film venues. The elements are universal--melody, groove, harmony, story and imagery--the musical passport to a chapter in The Great American Songbook. Lisa Kirchner is joined by a group of world-class performers in jazz and classical genres. They offer a unique take on these gorgeous songs crossing the borders of musical genre.

Two works for voice by the internationally recognized composer C. Curtis-Smith are offered on this recording. The first -- Gold Are My Flowers -- is a cantata/melodrama for soprano, baritone and chamber group. The work tells the story of the coming of European civilization to the wildernesses of the world using poetry by the Chickasaw poet Linda Hogan, portions of the Navajo Night Chant, excerpts from Columbus' Log and Book of Prophecies and Biblical passages quoted by Columbus in his Log. A Civil War Song Cycle, the second vocal work, follows the emotional and chronological sequence of the Civil War. C. Curtis-Smith is the recipient of more than 100 grants, awards and commissions. He was the youngest faculty member ever awarded the Western Michigan University's Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award. His Twelve Etudes for Piano were selected for the repertoire list for the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001. His music has been performed throughout the United States, Germany and Japan.

Written in commemoration of September 11, Reflections upon a September morn sets two poems by Walt Whitman. Performed by Kate Maroney, mezzo-soprano, Virginia Brewer, English horn and oboe, and James Adler, piano, this is a poignant tribute to our national tragedy. Available only as a digital download through our online digital store.

The Seasons, a cantata in five section--Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, Final--is organized with four song cycles made up of five songs that can be performed separately and a Finale uniting all the voices and instruments. The major work on this program, lasting in excess of 75 minutes, The Seasons sets the profoundly intimate and vividly imagistic poetry of Elizabeth Kirschner. Composer Larry Bell's music has been widely performed in the United States and abroad by the Atlanta Symphony, Seattle Symphony, RAI Orchestra of Rome, Juilliard Philharmonia, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Civic Symphony, the Boston Chamber Music Society, Speculum Musicae, and the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, among others. His music appears on North/South, Vienna Modern Masters and Albany Records. He is the recipient of the Rome Prize and the Charles Ives Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.