Catalog #: RR7857
Release Date: September 4, 2012
20th CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalCelloFlutePianoDavid Bennett Thomas' CHAMBER WORKS was originally released in 2005, and was lauded as "immediately engaging" (Philadelphia Music Makers) and "concise and comprehensible" (American Record Guide).
Catalog #: RR7813
Release Date: June 28, 2011
21st CenturyChamberCelloPianoViolinDREAMS is the latest release from New York-based composer Craig Madden Morris. This album features a variety of Morris’ compositional styles, including the passionate Violin Concerto, the Caribbean-flavored Tropical Dances, the intimate Piano Trio, the elegiac Cello Rhapsody and the loving, gentle Dream Songs. Known for his intelligently complex and unique-yet-accessible compositions, Morris complements his works with his knowledge of the instruments for which he composes.
Catalog #: RR8061
Release Date: November 19, 2021
21st CenturyChamberCelloFluteViolaOn ...AND NOTHING REMAINS THE SAME... from Eight Strings & a Whistle and Ravello Records, the flute-viola-cello trio explores the constant cycle of transformation that defines human existence. Since 1998, Eight Strings & a Whistle has earned a reputation for championing Baroque, Classical, and Romantic repertoire while also premiering new works from living composers. ...AND NOTHING REMAINS THE SAME... focuses on the music of contemporary composers, the majority of whom composed their pieces specifically for the Trio. The performances heard on the album offer a rewarding and intimate listening experience, with a deeply evocative sound rife with stark dissonance and rich harmony.
Catalog #: RR8071
Release Date: October 28, 2022
21st CenturyChamberCelloPianoTWO WORLDS CALLED HOME is inspired by composer Caleb Vaughn-Jones’s nine-year journey as an American living abroad in South Africa. In 2011, Vaughn-Jones was a gifted cellist from Baltimore who felt a calling toward the unknown. He abandoned the traditional path of an American musician building a career and instead moved to Port Elizabeth, South Africa to teach music. In this album, Vaughn-Jones employs his skill as a cellist to express the joys and sacrifices he encountered on this incredible adventure. Ava’s Lullaby, for example, was written for his daughter when pandemic restrictions kept him from returning to the United States. Lakutshon' ilanga (The Sun Never Sets), on the other hand, is an isiXhosa song written by Mackay Davashe during the Apartheid era that describes the endless search for a lost love. Joined by pianist Hsin-I Huang, Vaughn-Jones invites listeners on an unforgettable journey.
Catalog #: RR8086
Release Date: February 10, 2023
21st CenturyChamberCelloFlutePianoRavello Records is proud to present AMERICAN CARNAGE, an album of chamber music by composer Ken Walicki. Well traveled and well versed in an array of different genres, Walicki shares numerous personal experiences and influences in these pieces, from blissful moments of natural beauty to musical reflections on his formative years and beyond. Masterfully performed by members of the Los Angeles-based Divan Consort, AMERICAN CARNAGE offers exuberance and zest from start to finish, a satisfying and equally authentic listening experience.
Catalog #: RR8087
Release Date: April 28, 2023
21st CenturyChamberCelloFluteViolinAt times meditative, at times sparklingly abstract, 5X4 is an album of contrasts. Composer Lawrence Axelrod offers a multi-faceted selection of original compositions which push the limits of musical craft – all contained within the quartet setup, but in varying instrumentations. The range begins with the eternal classic, the string quartet, progresses to a less-orthodox quartet of flute, clarinet, violoncello, and piano, escalates to an otherworldly ensemble of percussion, and finally culminates with a hypnotic double bass quartet. Axelrod's 5X4 is carefully conceptualized and altogether well-wrought; often contemplative, and always original.
Catalog #: RR8094
Release Date: September 22, 2023
21st CenturyChamberCelloElectroacousticPercussionCYCLES OF FORMATION from John Ritz presents varying degrees of prescribed musical material and open-form elements. Each piece explores the potential interactions between human performance and interactive computer signal processing algorithms within a particular musical context. Featuring jazz pianist Gabe Evens, and classical percussionist Greg Byrne, and Ritz himself as the album’s composer, cellist, and analog synthesist, this Ravello Records release delivers a stimulating world of electroacoustic sound, a smooth blend of suspense and innovation.
Catalog #: RR8103
Release Date: June 28, 2024
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalCelloTHE PETRIFIED FOREST PROJECT from cellist Rhonda Rider pays homage to the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, where Rider carried out a residency in 2015. The forest is home to Triassic fossils and an over 200 million-year-old ecosystem. The works here, all commissioned as part of the residency, highlight elements that make the park so special. Pari by Mischa Salkind-Pearl takes its movement titles from flora native to the park. Raven Chacon created a piece, Invisible Arc, inspired by a Navajo myth. Kurt Rohde’s credo petrified is for amplified cello, and personifies both life and glacial decay in nature. In Meditation on Impatience, Ian Gottlieb evokes sediment through coalescing layers of sound. Laurie San Martin’s Vast Steppe and Eric Moe’s Verklaerte Holz reflect on the idea of natural beauty and the many transformations it endures. Rich in metaphor and imagination, THE PETRIFIED FOREST PROJECT resonates at the intersection of music and ecology.