Reena Esmail: Exaltations

Washington’s distinguished Cathedral Choral Society presents EXALTATIONS by award-winning Indian-American composer Reena Esmail. Commissioned by the Cathedral Choral Society, EXALTATIONS is a three-movement work for double choir and brass quintet that draws inspiration from the monumental works of Giovanni Gabrieli and Anton Bruckner. Each movement is set in a different Hindustani raga, reflecting Esmail’s deep engagement with her bicultural heritage. …

Gabriela Ortiz: Yanga

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, present a third installment of their multi-Grammy Award-winning Latin series with an album centering Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. Inspired by a 16th century African prince who was enslaved in Mexico, Yanga is composed for choir, percussion quartet, and orchestra. Yanga uses African instruments that arrived in Latin America including …

Radiant Dawn

Acclaimed British vocal consort The Gesualdo Six present their tenth album, featuring a collaboration with trumpeter Matilda Lloyd in works by Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Tallis, James Macmillan, Roxana Panufnik, and others. “From religious processions to military victories, the combination of voices and trumpet has played a prominent role in concerts and ritual for centuries,” says artistic director Owain Park. …

Joel Puckett: Short Stories in London

Creative collaboration is a fundamental aspect of American composer Joel Puckett. The three works receiving their premiere recording here exemplify this spirit, each reflecting synergy between Puckett’s dynamic creative vision and the musicians for whom he composes. Puckett’s new Trumpet Concerto was written for the distinguished jazz trumpeter Sean Jones as an homage to Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, commissioned and …

Price: Choral Works

The Malmö Opera Chorus and Orchestra led by John Jeter, a noted champion of the music of Florence Price, present world premiere recordings of Price’s largest choral work, Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, and of the spiritual-inspired Song of Hope, set to the composer’s own text. A series of shorter choral works with piano accompaniment complement the two pieces with …

Fields of Wonder

Minneapolis-based low-voice ensemble Cantus presents a program of five choral song cycles, including four premiere recordings. The album is anchored by the recently rediscovered Fields of Wonder by Margaret Bonds set to the poetry of Langston Hughes. Three featured works have been written specifically for Cantus by contemporary composers Gavin Bryars, Melissa Dunphy, and Griffin Candey. “These contrasting song cycles …

Visiting Rachmaninoff: Chopin Variations; Romances

Pianist Alexander Melnikov new album is dedicated to music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, centering his Variations on a Theme by Chopin. Melkinov traveled to Villa Senar, Rachmaninoff’s Bauhaus summer home on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, to record on the composers’s own grand piano, a birthday gift from Frederik Steinway. The album also features the luminous soprano Julia Lezhneva who joins Melkinov …

Handel: Italian Cantatas & Arias

Opera Prima’s second album with soprano Amanda Forsythe features two early works by a young Handel—Armida abbandonata (1707) and Agrippina condotta a morire (1708)—as well as a trio sonata, sinfonia, and selections from his oratorio Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno. Highly sought-after for her interpretations of Handel, Forsythe is acclaimed for her agile coloratura, exquisite breath control, and …

Nei Giardini d’Amore: Baroque Arias For Two Alti

This new album featuring two rising star countertenors Carlo Vistoli and Hugh Cutting. Accompanied by Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie, the program centers Baroque arias and duets for two altos by composers such as Monteverdi, Caldara, Bononcini, and Vivaldi. The album’s release marks a significant milestone in Cutting’s career, following his recognition as the first countertenor to win …