The dog days of summer are here, but don’t let the heat leave you uninspired. This August brings expeditions into the human experience, explorations in electro-acoustics, and melodies from places reaching as far as China, Spain, and Ghana. Albums this month include the re-release of works spanning three decades, an opera pitting two historical figures against each other in a witty, multifaceted scenario, and the symbiosis of mankind and technology in the electro-acoustic experience.
Dive in and discover new music from Douglas Anderson, Gina Biver, Ferdinando De Sena, Doug Bielmeier, Jon Bellona, Julius Bucsis, Herbert Deutsch, Bill Whitley, Jim Schliestett, Bob Bliss, Nada Radulovich, Joe Sheehan, Society of Composers, Inc., Walter Steffens and Marec Béla Steffens, Michael Wittgraf, Stephen Yip, Richard Brooks, and more…
AUGUST RELEASES OUT NOW
ONE AT A TIME
Douglas Anderson
Longtime Ravello Records composer Doug Anderson is showcasing his legacy with ONE AT A TIME. As the name implies, Anderson’s solo compositions act as milestones to the artist’s musical development through the intimacy of solo instruments. From chamber music to electronic and jazz, ONE AT A TIME takes the listener on a tour through the composer’s unique and varied palette.
3: THE MUSIC OF GINA BIVER
Gina Biver
What sets the boundary between conscious awareness and the shadow self? For Gina Biver, opposing and contrasting viewpoints exist between her life and music. On 3: THE MUSIC OF GINA BIVER, the composer explores those dichotomies in a stunningly intimate recording.
SECRETS FOR FREE
Ferdinando De Sena
It should be no secret that Miami-based composer Ferdinando De Sena is a tour de force amongst electro-acoustic composers. Just listening to SECRETS FOR FREE is all the proof you need. The EP boasts adventurous yet accessible compositions that balance the use real instruments with computer-generated sound. SECRETS FOR FREE is a testament to fans of either subgenre that the two approaches to classical music do not have to be mutually exclusive.
MIND & MACHINE
Doug Bielmeier; Jon Bellona; Julius Bucsis; Herbert Deutsch; Bill Whitley; Schliestett & Bliss
Electro-acoustic music often explores the interaction of natural and electronically generated sounds and effects. Sound is transformed into electrical signals, and then transformed from electrical form back to sound, which can then be further shaped using electronics and computers. MIND & MACHINE explores the incredible range of works that can be categorized as electro-acoustic, a music in which styles are dictated by the technology at the heart of its performance.
UNEXPLORED
Nada Radulovich
The exquisite pairing of piano and cello is on prominent display with UNEXPLORED, the debut Navona Records release from cellist and transcriber Nada Radulovich. On the album, Radulovich is joined by acclaimed pianist Cullan Bryant in a program that highlights the works from some of the most renowned musicians of the 19th and 20th centuries.
SONGS OF LAKE VOLTA
Joseph Sheehan
In 2008, a trip to Ghana to study traditional music and dance forever transformed Joe Sheehan’s understanding of music. SONGS OF LAKE VOLTA, on Ansonica Records, is the culmination of Sheehan’s quest to integrate the depth and sweetness of Ghanian music with his background as a classical composer and pianist.
FLARE
Society of Composers, Inc.
Navona Records proudly presents FLARE, recordings by members of the Society of Composers, Inc. Now in its 32nd installment, it offers a veritable cross-section of some of the most original voices in American composition today.
TWO CELLS IN SEVILLA
Walter Steffens and Marec Béla Steffens
In many ways, Walter Steffens’ TWO CELLS IN SEVILLA is a work of polar opposites. Quasi-tonal but modern, traditional but minimalist, the German composer has created an opera uniting two historical protagonists as multifaceted as the music itself.
MANIFOLD
Michael Wittgraf
Ravello Records welcomes Michael Wittgraf to its family of artists. Wittgraf is releasing his debut album MANIFOLD, an expansive effort with numerous layers hidden in the composition. Choosing texture over melody, the visceral compositions of MANIFOLD draw the listener in to the arresting music, and sound as if it would take lifetimes to unpack the complex layers building to Wittgrafʼs stellar debut.
WHISPERING FRAGRANCE
Stephen Yip
On WHISPERING FRAGRANCE, his first solo album with Navona Records, composer Stephen Yip merges serenity with agitation, earthiness with sophistication and the mundane with the sublime. The result is an original creation that is unapologetically post-modern, yet deeply rooted in Chinese traditionalism.
PLACES IN TIME
Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks’ PLACES IN TIME travels through the acclaimed composer’s personal history. Each piece gains new life as Brooks and Ravello Records team up to share this fascinating work in tonality, soundscapes, and emotional sway with a new generation of music lovers.
