Catalog #: RR8051
Release Date: March 26, 2021
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicCelloPianoVoiceRavello Records proudly presents THE TRAVELLED ROAD from operatic composer Evan Mack. The album is a bold and progressive work featuring compositions that are thoroughly grounded in the modern era. A Little More Perfect sets the text of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion on Obergefell v. Hodges, which made marriage equality the law of the land. Three Reflections of Sister Dorothy tells the story of martyred nun Sr. Dorothy Stang and her fight to save the rainforest. The Road and the End expresses the eponymous 1916 Carl Sandburg poem as a musical tour de force, performed by vocal powerhouse Megan Marino. Mack is a firm believer that opera should be theater grounded in climactic expression, delivering larger-than-life stories while harnessing the full athletic thrill of singing; THE TRAVELLED ROAD embodies this philosophy.
Catalog #: RR7970
Release Date: July 14, 2017
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicClarinetPianoVoiceFirst released in 2002 on Capstone Records, Phillip Schroeder’s TURNING TO THE CENTER is a subdued, atmospheric tour de force of songs written primarily for an ensemble of baritone voice, clarinet, and keyboards. Featuring texts by Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, and Rumi, the three song cycles on this release offer atmospheric and varied writing for the expected baritone, clarinet, and keyboards with occasional forays into the unexpected sound worlds of synthesizer and added percussion.
Catalog #: RR7985
Release Date: July 13, 2018
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicElectroacousticGuitarVoiceWAKING THE SPARROW, the premiere recording on PARMA RECORDINGS from classical and baroque guitarist Robert Nathanson and soprano Nancy King, performing as Duo Sureño, is the result of a twenty-year long journey exploring the grandeur of the human voice blended with the vibrancy of the guitar. Interpreting the work of five notable modern composers who were, in turn, inspired by the words of poets throughout the ages, Nathanson and King deliver a stunning performance that is rich in its variety and impressive in scope.
Catalog #: RR8099
Release Date: December 8, 2023
21st CenturyStage WorksVocal MusicPercussionPianoVoiceWHAT 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. The first work, Cassandra Songs, tells the story of a Trojan priestess gifted with the power of prophecy but cursed to never be believed. The 11 songs that comprise this first work depict the arc of her tragic struggle. THROUGH/IN, the second major work on the album, is a one-woman chamber opera in which the modern Woman confronts herself through the looking glass. With words by Andrew Joffe, WHAT SHE SAW is a dramatic tour-de-force.
Catalog #: RR8022
Release Date: October 25, 2019
21st CenturyVocal MusicPercussionPianoVoiceOn WITHIN MY SOUL, New York-based composer Akemi Naito’s debut release on Ravello Records, the composer’s intent was to create a collection of musical works inspired by words. The poetry and prose that inspired the album’s three pieces were crafted by a trio of writers who transcend the boundaries of time and place: 19th-century British poet and novelist Emily Brontë; 20th-century Japanese novelist Kobo Abe; and Japanese monk-poet Saigyo (1118 – 1190).