Welcome to the last weekend in July and to New In Music This Week: July 25th. This week I have a diverse line-up of recordings to choose from. They all have something unique to offer.
My top pick for New In Music This Week: July 25th is:
THEATER SONGS: OUT OF MYSELF- SONGS OF PETER FOLEY – Multiple Artists – Center Stage Records
Composer/lyricist Peter Foley is not someone whose work I knew before this album. Perhaps had I been living in New York in 2023 I would have heard about a tribute concert at Peter Norton Symphony Space and been intrigued enough to go.
If I had, I would have heard Kate Baldwin, Mikaela Bennett, Max Chernin, Elisa Davis, Melissa Errico, Manoel Felciano, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Jason Gotay, Marya Grandy, Darron Hays, Christian Probst, Sam Simahk and Michael Winther sings the 22 songs on this record of that concert.
What an amazing sense of discovery to hear these wonderful diverse, totally unique, thoughtfully composed songs.
I only heard the album yesterday, but with each song I kept wanting more. Each song revealed something new to discover in Foley’s work. By the end of the album I still wanted more.
I don’t know if there’s more in his archives. Foley passed away in 2021. If there is, I hope there’s a second concert and a second album. If so, none of us will have any excuse for not making it to that concert. These are outstanding songs.
Here are the rest of the fine recordings in New In Music This Week: July 25th:
CLASSICAL: GINASTERA STRING QUARTETS – MIRÓ QUARTET – Pentatone
Alberto Ginastera’s String Quartets are nothing short of amazing. Yet they haven’t quite found their way into the repertoire the way other composers works have. Hopefully that will change with this recording that puts the spotlight on all three of Ginastera’s quartets.
Miró Quartet has carefully and thoughtfully considered these quartets and it shows on this excellent album. The Argentinian composer has infused all three works with the sounds of his homeland, but in a way that modernizes those traditions while simultaneously expanding the quartet form.
String Quartet No. 1 dates from 1948; the second from 1968 and the third from 1973. The later uses text by multiple poets including Juan Ramón Jiménez and Frederico García Lorca. Soprano Kierra Duffy joins for that final quartet.
It Is my belief that Miró Quartet has created the definitive version of Ginastera’s quartets.
Next week I’ll have an interview with the quartet’s John Largess. Check back for that. In the meantime, listen to this record.
CLASSICAL/OPERA – LUMINA – SAMUEL MARIÑO – Decca Classics
I had the opportunity to see male soprano Mariño perform in May of 2023 in a performance with Camerata Pacifica. Yes, you read that correctly – male soprano. He’s not a countertenor. What he is is glorious.
This is his second album and he’s chosen arias and songs that are traditional sung by women. This includes Laschia ch’io pianga from Handel’s Rinaldo, both Schubert and Gounod’s Ave Maria, Song to the Moon from Dvořák’s Rusalka, Richard Strauss’ Morgen! From 4 Lieder, Op. 27 and more. The album concludes with a soaring version of Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise.
Lumina perfectly captures everything that makes Mariño unique. I wholeheartedly recommend you listen to this album.
If you’d like to see my interview with Mariño from 2023, you can find it HERE.
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: #47 – LIZA LIM/Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – BR KLassik
Here’s another discovery this week: Australian composer Liza Lim. She’s a thinking person’s composer who also captures our imagination with her music.
This album opens with a live performance of A Sutured World which was performed last October. It is a work for cellist (Nicolas Alstaedt) and orchestra. It’s a four-movement work that can be challenging at moments and quickly turn emotional.
The album is anchored by the superb Mary “Transcendence after Trauma” which is part of a triptych exploring female spirituality. The Mary of the title refers to the Virgin Mary. I found this piece utterly compelling.
Closing out the album is The Compass which features the flute (Carin Levine) and digeridoo (William Barton) and orchestra. The presence of the digeridoo tells you immediately this piece is exploring the relationship between traditional people (Aborigines) and modern society.
I recommend you explore this album and discover Lim.
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: FIELDS OF WONDER – CANTUS – Signum Classics
I put this compelling album by the low-voice ensemble Cantus in contemporary classical, but I think its appeal is more far-ranging than that one genre implies.
There are five suites of songs here and four of them have their world premiere recordings: Edwin Morgan Sonnets, Vol. 2 (by Gavin Bryars); N-400 Erasure Songs (by Melissa Dunphy); Protocol (by Griffin Candey) and Fields of Wonder (composed by Margaret Bonds). The first three were written specifically for Cantus. The latter finds Bonds writing to the poetry of Langston Hughes.
The album opens with Dans la montagne by Jean Crass.
Each of these suites is centered around the concept of change. Of finding one’s path to their true self.
I was mesmerized by Fields of Wonder (the album and the suite by Bonds).
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: NOVA – TOBIAS PICKER – Bright Shiny Things
Whether you are a fan of composer Picker or are curious, having heard about him, Nova is a great retrospective of his work. There are seven works on here that span thirty years from 1979 to 2009.
The album opens with Picker’s Nova which press notes indicate was his response to Schubert’s Trout Quintet. It features Picker on piano with Speculum Musicae. The album closes with Picker again on the piano for The Blue Hula.
Throughout this 84-minute collection various styles and shades of Picker’s music are on display. They all feature the piano either as a solo instrument (Three Pieces for Piano performed by Peter Serkin) or in various duets (Invisible Lilacs with Young Uck Kim on violin and Emanuel Ax on piano is one).
This is a fascinating collection and one perfectly enjoyed with your morning coffee and, of course, a bagel with Nova lox. Since I’m a vegan, I’ll have mine with this music being the only Nova I need.
JAZZ: AS WE ARE NOW – Jimmy Greene – Greene Music Works
A lot of attention on this album will be centered around three tracks: Unburdened, As We Are Now and Anhelando. And rightly so. Those three tracks form the emotional center of saxophonist Greene’s first album in five years. The songs all address his and his family’s life after the shooting at Sandy Hook that took the life of daughter, Ana. They are emotional songs and that emotion comes through.
But As We Are Now is not just about loss. The opening track, Praises, is one of the most enjoyable and uplifting songs I’ve heard in quite some time. The use of a Hammond B3 organ (played by Shedrick Mitchell) enhances the joy by anchoring it in church music.
Seventeen, which features vocals by Javier Colon, presents Greene’s view of life on the road. He’s clearly enjoying himself but also longing for time with his family. Not having been a viewer of The Voice, I enjoyed hearing Colon’s singing here.
The album closes with the one cover: Kurt Weill’s Speak Low. It’s a beautiful way to close out the album.
I hope this album bring Greene and his family some sense of catharsis. For the rest of us, this offers an answer in music to how a family copes with such a tragedy. A beautiful answer to be sure.
JAZZ: BLOODLINES – Rico Jones – Giant Steps Arts
From the opening minute of Jones’ album, you know you’re in for something different. The cry of his tenor saxophone wails emotively. Only after 46 seconds do any other instruments join in what is the first of the five-part Suite of the Eternal and Optimistic Spirit that reflects Jones’ heritage (Latino and Indigenous), his family and his relationship to the divine.
This is a live album from August of 2024. Joining Jones for this concert were guitarist Max Light, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Nasheet Waits.
Jones has a clear vision for what he wants to do and say with his music and it comes through clearly. That he’s also an excellent musician doesn’t hurt.
JAZZ: SWEET WILLIAM – Eric Siereveld’s Organic Quintet – Shifting Paradigm Records
If you aren’t familiar with Siereveld’s 2018 album Walk the Walk, you may not be aware that the organic of this ensemble’s title is a pun since this is a quintet that is anchored by the organ. In this case, the Hammond B3 (seems popular this week) as played by Steve Snyder
Siereveld is a trumpeter/composer who wrote, or co-wrote, all but one of the 8 songs on this album. The title track was written by Joe Sherman and Syd Wayne. The latter is a ballad that is a tribute to Siereveld’s son.
The other musicians on Sweet William are Steve Davis on trombone; Tony Davis on guitar; Carmen Intorre, Jr. on drums and Bill Todd on flute.
I’ve always loved organ combos and Sweet William is a terrific album filled with groove-based music that is playful, mature and filled with references to jazz icons throughout.
MUSICAL THEATER ADJACENT: TIME MACHINE – TIM MINCHIN – BMG Records
Minchin is the deliriously inventive composer of the musicals Matilda and Groundhog Day. His wit is unparalleled (check out the song Prejudice). He can be profane. He can break your heart. He can make you laugh out loud. He can make you think.
Apparently, he’s always been able to do that since his earliest songs. As I discovered when listening to Time Machine, a collection of 11 songs that were written when he was in his 20s (that dates them back to mid-90s/early 00s.)
Minchin’s sense of humor was clearly formed early on as was his turn of phrase. These songs aren’t all great, but they offer a look into his mind. “You grow on me, like a tumor” is the opening line of one song. “I wouldn’t like you if you weren’t like you” is the chorus of another.
These songs are not perfect, but they are his. And we are all happier for getting to hear them in his time machine.
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Two quick notes before ending New In Music This Week: July 25th.
If you had the privilege of seeing Audra McDonald in Gypsy, the CD and a deluxe vinyl set were released today. I did see Gypsy and this is a performance I will never forget. I believe this is the finest performance of Mama Rose I will ever experience. I thought fans of musicals who still purchase physical copies of music would want to know about this week’s release.
I recently reviewed Will Liverman’s The Dunbar/Moore Sessions Vol. II. Both the first and second volume were released today on CD and vinyl. Well worth your attention, particularly if you like art songs. These are quite good and Liverman is joined by a variety of other artists. Don’t miss out on this music!
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That’s all for New In Music This Week: July 25th.
Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the music!
Main Photo: Part of the album art for Will Liverman’s The Dunbar/Moore Sessions Complete Collection (Courtesy Lexicon Classics)