December 8, 2023 New Releases from Navona, Ravello, and Big Round Records

Ivory keys worn by two centuries of passionate musicians tell a story of musical evolution on SCARLATTI SONATAS, an album of solo harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Soler, and an unidentified composer. While Metz’s choice of repertoire holds ample historical significance, so does the instrument he employs to perform them — an 1806 square piano built by Muzio Clementi.

Full of the longing and passion characteristic of tango music and paired with the rich dynamic range of the bass and cello, LET’S TANGO offers fresh new interpretations of classic works. Dive in and experience a fresh presentation of some of the celebrated genre’s greatest masterpieces.

MOTHER TALES is an album that pays tribute to four remarkable women composers – Florence Price, Gabriela Lena Frank, Liliya Ugay, and Amy Beach. The concept of a “mother” transcends biological boundaries in this release, encompassing all those who have had a profound influence and nurturing presence in the lives of others.

What is the nature of our collective life sustained on if not breath and breath alone? Debuted and recorded by the Empire City Men’s Chorus, ALL IS MERE BREATH asks us to question the nature of our changed society in the thought of mere breath, and offers us refuge in the breath of song, perhaps, now and then, the purest form of it.

ASHES TO IMPULSE is an extroverted, highly expressive album of redemption and realization. Conceived by Berklee music professor Gregory T. Glancey, these compositions delve into the core of human struggle, mirroring the very process of creation – a journey from the ashes of doubt to the ignition of artistic impulse.

WHAT SHE SAW features two epic, large-scale works from composer Douglas Anderson. These gripping vocal works focus on the lives of two archetypal women: Cassandra of ancient Greece and The Woman of modern times. With words by Andrew Joffe, WHAT SHE SAW is a dramatic tour-de-force.

Adam Guettel’s theater cult-classic MYTHS AND HYMNS is no stranger to genre-bending and reimagination, the original song cycle itself leaning heavily on the concepts. So it comes as no surprise that renowned guitarist Garrett Gleason, never shying away from the new or imaginative, would produce his own reworkings of the beloved songs for guitar, bass, and drums.