Catalog

This recording project began with a concert in October 2000 at SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge, New York, a community college with a vision. Larry Berk, then director of its library and information services, had recently created an Artist in Residence Program, with the support of the Ulster Foundation, to leaven the practical course offerings typical of most community colleges with a healthy dash of inspiration from working artists. Soprano Danielle Woerner was the resident artist for the fall of 2000, and designed a program for students of varying ages, backgrounds and experience. The residency required one major public presentation, and the concert of October 2000 featured some of her favorite Hudson Valley composers. Some of the music had an extra Hudson Valley flavor: words by Woodstock writers Pearl Bond and Gail Goodwin. Nearly all of the composers took part in the musical preparation and several participated as performers in both concert and on this CD. Since the project began, both Alan Shulman and Robert Starer have passed on, adding some additional poignancy to the presentation. Soprano Danielle Woerner is acclaimed for her performances of concert and operatic repertoire ranging from early Baroque to modern works. While maintaining active professional ties to New York City, she has lived in the mid-Hudson Valley. An alumna of Barnard and Bard Colleges, she counts among her most influential singing mentors Nora Bosler, Martha Gerhart and Bethany Beardslee Winham.

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.

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 Summer's preoccupation with the works of Shakespeare began in 1991, when he set the soliloquy "To Be or Not To Be" for tenor and piano. This project kindled a spark that grew rapidly and forcefully, and has burned undiminished to the present day. The tally now stands at over fifty settings contained in six books, known collectively as the Oxford Songs. These range from short arias for solo voice to fully orchestrated cantatas for several singers lasting over half an hour. In June 2000, a twenty-minute setting of the famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet was commissioned and premiered at Merkin Hall in New York City. Beyond the Oxfordian realm, Joseph Summer has completed seven operas and numerous orchestral works. In 2003, in collaboration with music director John McGinn, Summer founded The Shakespeare Concerts. To date, this series has presented concerts of Bard settings (by Summer and others) to audiences across Massachusetts, as well as St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. In its second season, it featured singers from Opera Unlimited of London, England. This CD is drawn from the Oxford Songs and represents the debut album of the Shakespeare Concerts.

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.

Lisa Kirchner's latest collection fits all seasons of the heart. During the very first listening one moves easily to the soul light flowing in. And you keep going back again and again  finding yourself pleasantly pinned inside a wall of exquisite and beguiling sounds. Her eclectic musical background includes recordings, concerts and nightclubs, where she has performed her multi-lingual repertoire of American jazz standards and international music. Her appearances have included numerous New York City nightclubs, among them Birdland, Maxim's, The Copacabana, The Village Gate and Tatou. When Lights Are Low is Lisa Kirchner's second album on Albany Records and follows One More Rhyme (TROY409) which garnered high praise from critics.

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."

Composer and conductor, Victoria Bond has written for every medium including opera, orchestra, ballet and chamber music. She was born in Los Angeles into a family of professional musicians. She studied composition with Ingolf Dahl at the University of Southern California, and with Roger Sessions at the Juilliard School, becoming the first woman to earn a doctorate degree in orchestral conducting in 1977. While still at Juilliard, she worked with composers Pierre Boulez and Aaron Copland as assistant conductor of the Contemporary Music Ensemble. Chosen by Dennis Russell Davies to be his assistant at the Cabrillo Music Festival in California and The White Mountains Music Festival in New Hampshire, she premiered numerous works including her own compositions. She has served as Music Director and Conductor of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra from 1986-1995 and Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke (1989-1995) and The Hamburg Opera (1997-2003).