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From an unlikely group of students who just happened to be in string quartet formation, to an indescribable smush of string quartet, folk band, and singer-songwriter(s), over the years we have grown into ourselves as an ensemble, as composers, and as equal partners in this wild venture that is Invoke. 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Which is why I am approaching zealot status in my admiration for Sono Luminus and the way in which it submerges listeners within reach of the Atlantis that is the on-stage experience. Which is why, save for live performance, the often inimitable new-music originating in, or in proximity to, Iceland (homeland to an unreasonable percentage of the composers living rent-free in my headphones for more than a decade) has found its most ardent advocate and most clarion amplifier in Winchester, Virginia. Certainly its exceptional national orchestra has. Despite a bewildering insistence by journalists to characterize music written by those with Icelandic surnames as a monolith, the entries on this tracklist are as singular as hand blown glass. The inclusion of American sonic clairvoyant Missy Mazzoli is a helpful geographic foil here, but there is one element fusing all of these inventions: Your person is about to feel minuscule or massive, by contrast to – or motivated by – these sounds. 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The album is a testament to this time, and we welcome you to join us as we traverse the emotions that have enveloped us all.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":47678894702872,"sku":"053479225528","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4063903-2802904.jpg?v=1777655185"},{"product_id":"sonic-alchemy-kim-itzkoff-gajic","title":"Sonic Alchemy \/ Kim, Itzkoff, Gajic","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow do we even measure time? It is sometimes said that time is as old as humankind, but of course it isn’t. It’s just something we created out of a need for... what exactly? Earliest known evidence suggests we were measuring time already 5000 years ago. That way we could create predictability, for example concerning planting and harvesting. From there on we could more easily schedule and organize, which then helped us building a more sustainable life. When we had found a mutual understanding of what we would call time then other systems could be developed, kind of like a third-party software. Music notation works as a fine example. Today our life is synchronized “to the beat.” Not only is every single footstep kept track of by our telephones or every breath by our smart wrist watches – even our thoughts are as good as monitored as we scroll casually through advertisements on social media. Without us even realizing, the idea of time and synchronicity is apparently encrypted so deep in our consciousness that the thought of viewing the world without it is beyond our comprehension. That doesn’t change the fact that time as we understand it has not always been the same. Our ideas on time have changed throughout the centuries and will most probably continue to do so. 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We’ve all had some really tough weeks, which sometimes turned into months, and (with a bit of bad luck) into years… I like to think that “off” years help us grow and prepare for the beautiful things that will undoubtedly come our way (I am an optimist at heart), but living through dark times is a complicated process. The year 2020 was complicated indeed. The world was put on hold and we hardly remember what we did in February, or May, or September… Many suffered from isolation and the inability to socialize - and they probably prefer to think back to 2020 as a year that never happened… I, on the other hand, felt liberated by the lack of schedules, appointments and the pressure to be productive - that horrid word which is killing our souls, slowly but surely. Instead I embraced seclusion and enjoyed the time off which was forced upon us. Yes, I did miss performing in front of a live audience and traveling to beautiful places, but I found that staying home, with my piano, offered me a better view towards my inner self and a chance to experience the joy of a new discovery. That was for me the Cuban master Ernesto Lecuona…Two years later, the pandemic isn’t over and neither is the collective anxiety- but at least I can offer you this very personal recording, which I hope will take your mind away from current realities. This is music’s most phenomenal power- to bring joy when we really need it!...”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":47678896832792,"sku":"053479225825","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4096203-2842883.jpg?v=1777655244"},{"product_id":"utility-music-053479702722","title":"Brink: Utility Music","description":"\u003cp\u003eJulian Brink is a South African composer. Born in Johannesburg in 1989, he first picked up his mother’s guitar at the age of ten and grew up playing in rock bands. He discovered a love of contemporary classical music through the films of Paolo Sorrentino and Paul Thomas Anderson. Hearing Jonny Greenwood's score for There Will be Blood, in particular, was what led him to pursue composition. Although he didn’t learn to read music until he was 19, while studying guitar at undergraduate level, he went on to complete a master's degree in film scoring through Berklee College of Music and relocated to California in 2015. Brink works in film music and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Maddie Hasson. In collaboration with eminent classical label Sono Luminus, Utility Music is Brink's first standalone release. Originally composed in 2019 as a score for an abandoned film project, the music was arranged for piano, harp and string trio. It was later repurposed, reorchestrated and combined with a few older pieces into what is its current form. The album features performances by several distinguished musicians, with the heart of the music being the string trio of Moldovan violin virtuoso Dan-Iulian Drutac; Nick Revel, violist of the Grammy Nominated PUBLIQuartet; and Joe Zeitlin who was the lead cellist on Mica Levi’s Oscar-nominated score for Pablo Lorraín’s Jackie.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":47678897127704,"sku":"053479702722","price":8.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4136193-2894155.jpg?v=1777655223"},{"product_id":"wild-at-heart-harris","title":"Wild At Heart \/ Harris","description":"\u003cp\u003ePauline Kim Harris writes: “Wild at Heart is the second album in the “Chaconne Project” series on Sono Luminus which reaches into the realm of parallel universes — connecting the past to the present, into the future. A collection of contemporary chaconnes that echo reincarnations of Bach’s iconic work, Wild at Heart is in essence a stark contrast to the first release, Heroine. All music for acoustic, solo violin, it reflects a spectrum of sounds from delicate harmonics to extended-technique driven, hardcore noise with a touch of ethnic flare -- new responses to the iconic Bach Chaconne. The composers featured on this album are Yoon-Ji Lee, Elizabeth Hoffman, Annie Gosfield and John King, who each introduce a unique voice, pushing sonic expectations of the violin in unexpected ways. Heroine was released in the fall of 2019, just before the global pandemic hit. At that time, I fantasized about “freezing time” and played around with the concept that by stretching and layering a familiar piece of music into an open space, the sense of passing time can be altered into an infinite unknown. Part of understanding time relates to what we know comes next — the expectations or outcomes of what follows is what allows us to dream of a future which is yet to be defined. As there is no real way to control the future, the past is also unalterable. However, the journey in the present is a record of our evolution connecting the past to the present…”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":47678902305048,"sku":"053479225320","price":7.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4008037-2754658.jpg?v=1777655968"},{"product_id":"without-words-levingston","title":"Without Words \/ Bruce Levingston","description":"\u003cp\u003eMendelssohn’s Songs without Words simply defy ordinary description. Refined and nuanced, they constitute some of the composer’s finest and best-known works. For nearly two hundred years, they were regarded as charming relics, select romantic gems performed in small concert halls and salons. While their subtle, ornamental qualities certainly shine brightest in more intimate settings, closer inspection reveals an unexpected depth and complexity to these miniature masterpieces. Their interpretive and technical demands are considerable, requiring sensitivity to voicing, pedaling and dynamic control. Meant to enchant rather than dazzle, they evoke myriad dreams revealing some of the composer’s innermost reflections. 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The Bach works—four movements that make up a sonata—offer a multitude of interpretive options, including an approach that wanders through the harmonic labyrinth without regard to pulse and traditional notions of time, magnifying minute rhetorical statements along the way. It can be such that the Bach works represent the dreamscape while the atonal prepared piano pieces of Cage represent structure. This might be in opposition to many listeners’ expectations. Performance traditions of Bach, combined with the underlying dance rhythms and characters that pervade his instrumental writing, steer many musicians in the direction of the rational: consistent tempo, consistent articulation in each motif’s repetition, concise determination of tempo and character as related to the movement’s marking, such as “allegro.” Bach’s exquisite contrapuntal writing and harmonic nuance contribute to the idea of intellectualism as an oft utilized guide for musical interpretation—when deciding about phrasing, articulation, and the sense of time. Conversely, Cage’s exploration of non-Western music idioms played on western instruments seems a natural departure from the European ideas of form and content. Thankfully, written music has much room for the implementation of ever-changing ideas in time, ideas that change over time, and even though a recording seems to be a permanent medium, recordings can be approached as a performance: a rendition of a work or an entire concert program is a reflection of ideas that are offered to the audience here and now. In this recorded rendition, Cage offers the morning coffee following each Bachian dream.\n\u003cbr\u003e- (Carrettin\/Gajic)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":48335312388376,"sku":"053479227300","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4313850-3139367.jpg?v=1777528438"},{"product_id":"dreamspace","title":"Dreamspace","description":"SOME NOTES ON THE AUDIO\/RECORDING PROCESS WE USED  The singular sound of \"Dreamspace\" comes from fusing two sonic goals. By using a number of different microphones in various positions and distances, we create a comprehensive perspective on the piano and Michael Mizrahi's dynamic approach to performance, as well as a� realistic and life-like final \"image\" of the piano and Mizrahi's playing. The listener is situated in a specific place in the performance space while simultaneously experiencing sounds that could be heard from a number of listener positions. Bringing those two goals into harmony, aiming for both a multi-perspective and realistic soundworld, is what leads to the sounds you are hearing.�    NOTES ON DREAMSPACE  Dreamspace is a destination and state of mind.�  Give dreams space.  This record gives space for dreaming.  Keep dreaming.","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":48762033766680,"sku":"053479227607","price":14.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4335174-3177891.jpg?v=1777521525"},{"product_id":"cohen-brevoort-steal-a-pencil-for-me","title":"Cohen \u0026 Brevoort: Steal A Pencil for Me","description":"Steal a Pencil for Me, by composer Gerald Cohen and librettist Deborah Brevoort, is an opera in two acts about one of the Holocaust's most unusual love stories-between Jaap Polak, a Dutch accountant, and Ina Soep, the daughter of a wealthy diamond manufacturer-who fell in love while imprisoned in the Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. Based on their love letters, which were published in a book of the same title, Steal a Pencil for Me is about the indestructibility of the life spirit and the power of humankind to survive adversity. The opera dramatizes intimate concerns and private dramas alongside the epic horrors of the Holocaust.     The action of Steal a Pencil for Me takes place in Amsterdam, at Westerbork transit camp, and at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp between the years of 1943-1945. Thirty-year old Jaap Polak is unhappily married to Manja, a capricious woman with a sharp tongue. He falls in love with 20-year old Ina Soep, whose boyfriend, Rudi Acohen, has been seized and deported to Poland by the Nazis. When Jaap, Manja, and Ina are deported to Westerbork, they actually find themselves living in the same barracks. Jaap's wife objects to the relationship, and Jaap and Ina resort to writing secret love letters, which sustain them throughout the horrible circumstances of the war. Rudi appears onstage in the opera in Ina's mind, as she gradually reconciles herself to her grief over losing him.     Gerald Cohen knew Jaap and Ina for over 25 years, and was inspired to write the opera after hearing their story and reading their letters. He and Deborah Brevoort met with them many times in the process of writing the libretto, and Jaap and Ina were present at the first workshop of the opera in celebration of Jaap's 100th and Ina's 90th birthdays.     Steal a Pencil for Me was given it's premiere production in 2018 by Opera Colorado. The album, recorded in Denver in 2022, features most of the central performers of the Opera Colorado production, with Ari Pelto as conductor, and (in the principal vocal roles) Gideon Dabi as Jaap, Inna Dukach as Ina, and Adriana Zabala as Manja.     Further information on Steal A Pencil For Me, including the full libretto, can be found at: https:\/\/www. 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Yes, the actual sea, but also the sea of my childhood and the sea of my recurring dreams. In the process of writing, I've learned that if I look long enough, rooms that I didn't previously have access to emerge, floating in front of me like hard working tugboats, pulling behind them all the postcards that I've written to myself. I've learned that if I listen long enough, a vine will always grow out my head and become a phone cord, connecting me to all the times I've wanted to tell you I love you and have held it back. - Alex Sopp","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49020733128984,"sku":"053479703507","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4353108-3201819.jpg?v=1777499612"},{"product_id":"macmillan-part-schumann-kiss-on-wood","title":"Kiss On Wood","description":"Revolving around the first recording of Sir James MacMillan's Kiss on Wood for viola and piano arranged and performed by Rachel Yonan, this album explores the polarity of light and darkness. Minimalist composer Arvo Pa�rt's beloved Fratres and Spiegel  i'm Spiegel bookend the program. The concept of light infuses these pieces with their intense clarity and search for transcendent meaning. Fratres (Brotherhood) evokes the struggle between good and evil with it's contrasting voices. Spiegel i'm Spiegel (Mirror  in Mirror) is pure and stable as it sonically imagines the infinite reflection between two mirrors. Pa�rt's deeply spiritual music links to MacMillan's devotional Kiss on Wood which invites the listener into a place of stillness and silence as it reaches for an essence  of meaning beyond words. MacMillan sounds out the darkness  of loss, yet finds delicate rays of hope to fill the long spaces.  Paired with these intense yet static twenty-first century works are Schumann's miniature character pieces Ma�rchenbilder (Fairytale Pictures) that use an emotional palette ranging from bright and playful to deeply melancholic. The programmatic title of each work-Fratres, Kiss on Wood, Ma�rchenbilder, Spiegel i'm Spiegel- hints at meaning that cannot be expressed by words alone, but must be illuminated by the music.","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49020743418136,"sku":"053479228307","price":12.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4366440-3353045.jpg?v=1777496724"},{"product_id":"clear-voices-in-the-dark","title":"Clear Voices In The Dark","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a pilgrimage to Rocamadour I had the idea of composing a clandestine work which could be prepared in secret and then performed on the long-awaited day of liberation. With great enthusiasm I began Figure Humaine and completed it by the end of the summer. I composed the work for unaccompanied choir because I wanted this act of faith to be performed without instrumental aid, by sole means of the human voice.” \u003cbr\u003e– Francis Poulenc\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The day the Americans arrived, I triumphantly placed my cantata on the studio desk, beneath my flag, at the window.” \u003cbr\u003e– Francis Poulenc\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Francis, I never heard myself. \u003cbr\u003eFrancis, I needed you to understand me.” \u003cbr\u003e– Paul Éluard\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI believe that great art is often the product of great difficulty and tribulation, in many cases for the artist themselves. I also think art borne out of a time of societal turmoil can be even more profound, and can shed light today on what it was like to live and endure through tragedies of the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure Humaine is one of the ultimate artistic achievements from a time of turmoil. Composed by Francis Poulenc in 1943 in occupied France, it was composed in secret, inspired by the resistance poems of the surrealist poet Paul Éluard (poems that were distributed under plain cover during the occupation). It is one of the most profound pieces in the a cappella choral repertoire, if also one of the most difficult. Scored for double choir in six parts each, it is a vocal gauntlet which requires unmatched concentration and musicianship from every singer involved to mount a successful performance. Given that the piece was written at a time when victory was by no means assured, I believe that the difficulty of the work was intentional; to be worthy of the expressive task of communicating Éluard’s wartime thoughts, I think Poulenc believed that a choir must possess outstanding commitment, dedication, and skill. \u003cbr\u003eBecause of its challenges, Figure Humaine is rarely performed. Soon after founding Skylark, I began to feel that this was a piece we simply had to share. But at only 20 minutes in length, I struggled to find the appropriate way to present it to allow people to truly engage with the work. While on a walk in 2014, I realized that we were approaching the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, as well as the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, occasions that presented a unique opportunity to share music of both time periods. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI set out on a journey to find the appropriate Civil War-era songs to pair with the Poulenc movements. Figure Humaine sets forth an intense emotional progression, cycling between despair and optimism against a backdrop of gathering madness. It was critical to find pieces that would make sense musically and textually in the context of Poulenc’s work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was a fascinating journey. Through exploring my own musical heritage, I soon discovered that Alice Parker arranged Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye for the Robert Shaw Chorale in the late 1960s. Consultation with other Skylarks revealed several brilliant arrangements from Ron Jeffers, and a search through the Duke University Historical Sheet Music Archives uncovered several pieces that I never knew existed. The discovery that Abide with me (one of my favorite hymns) was written during 1861 was particularly poignant. Where no appropriate arrangement existed, I filled in myself with very simple editions. In all cases, the goal was to create as simple and honest an expression of the songs as possible. Against the foil of Poulenc’s monumental achievement of the choral art, we aim to juxtapose the simple, the familiar, the universal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThrough sharing this program, we hope to take you on an emotional and historical journey, a journey that we hope will illuminate the struggles of people who endured these two great wars, a journey that can shed light on nightmares of the past through the art that emerged from them, and most importantly, a journey that will affirm the incredible power of the human spirit to endure in times of tragedy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e– Matthew Guard, Artistic Director\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49052932636952,"sku":"053479227805","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4327453-3147994.jpg?v=1777521529"},{"product_id":"imagine-christmas","title":"Imagine Christmas","description":"\u003cp\u003eNote the three striking elements on this album, from the minute you press play. The first is the quality of the performances. These are top-level musicians bringing their same superlative artistry to Christmas favorites that they do to a Schubert quartet or Taverner score. The second is the sterling quality of the recording. If there is a sonic equivalent to sipping a hot toddy while curled up before a roaring fire, it is Sono Luminus’s peerless mixes and captures. Third–and in every way as essential as the previous two–this is a kaleidoscopic collection of styles and interpretations of beloved songs and carols that keeps one eager for the next number. With such a fetching variety of artists and approaches, you will find yourself going top-to-tail on this one. Simplicity is an underrated avenue when it comes to holiday releases, so the entries by Irina Muresanu \u0026amp; Matei Varga, Bruce Levingston, Kathryn Bates, and Skylark Vocal Ensemble are a breath of proverbial fresh air. Muresanu’s seductive playing is a glimpse into the golden age of violin technique–lush vibrato and delicious sentimentality, which infuses “White Christmas” with every bit of nostalgia one could hope for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCONTENTS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Nelson\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eJack Rollins\u003c\/strong\u003e: Frosty the Snowman\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTchaikovsky\u003c\/strong\u003e: The Seasons, Op. 37b XII. 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I last movements from it in a highlights disc from the Husum Festival. The nippy flurries of \u003ci\u003eEarly Morning Bathe\u003c\/i\u003e are finely projected by Maria Marchant, who ensures that the \u003ci\u003eSailing\u003c\/i\u003e movement is by no means plain, though after the squalls one returns to its elysian introduction. The big contrast between the showy \u003ci\u003eFun-Fair\u003c\/i\u003e aand the subdued \u003ci\u003eNight\u003c\/i\u003e could hardly be more potent. Ronald Stevenson tended to be more-than-somewhat dismissive of the solo piano writing of some senior British composers. His \u003ci\u003ePeter Grimes Fantasy\u003c\/i\u003e, which follows with inexorable programmatic logic, is a fugue on two subjects and Britten approved of it according to the paragraph in the booklet that preserves Stevenson’s own introduction to the piece. It’s driving, powerful music, idiomatically laid out, as one would expect of the prolific executant-composer. Maria Marchant’s metronome is set to ‘action’ when it comes to John Ireland’s \u003ci\u003eBallade of London Nights\u003c\/i\u003e, which she takes at a real lick—the fastest recording of it yet to be set down, I think. If I happen to prefer the more insinuating tempi of, say, John Lenehan, Alan Rowlands and Eric Parkin, it’s certainly bracing to hear Marchant’s take, if only the once.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRoderick Williams’s \u003ci\u003eSea Fever\u003c\/i\u003e transcription opens like Rachmaninov and is vividly accomplished, whilst his own \u003ci\u003eGoodwood by the Sea\u003c\/i\u003e fits the program delightfully: richly colored, rhythmically vivid, wholly delightful. Kenneth Leighton’s Six Studies are knottier by far, a sequence of so called ‘Study-Variations’, composed in 1969. The color and astringency of the writing is always exciting, the ‘e secco’ instruction fully realized here in the second study, and the way that economy of means develops gravity in the Adagio a particularly revealing example of Leighton’s skill. The garrulous quality of the capricious fourth movement and the dramatic energy of the finale study reinforce the rewarding merits of this brief but intense cycle. Holst’s solo piano music aspires to little more than charm, though the folklorically inflected \u003ci\u003eToccata\u003c\/i\u003e is thoroughly engaging: the \u003ci\u003eBrook Green Suite\u003c\/i\u003e is similarly effortlessly charming and Lasker’s transcription—she was his assistant and ex-pupil—is fresh-faced and effective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt ends a well selected work list that will reward close listening. Robert Matthew-Walker’s notes are very readable, though he has to strain to make connections between the works from time to time. Fine recording quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- MusicWeb International (Bruce McCollum)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49052933128472,"sku":"053479221629","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3742483.jpg?v=1777655088"},{"product_id":"boundless","title":"Boundless","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn recording these, the earliest revelations of Schubert’s boundless lyricism in his early romantic compositional voice as applied to instrumental chamber music, we sought to pay homage to the original intent as well as the authentic sounds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Sonatinas, (a posthumous title), were written for music of the chamber, a time of gathering, sharing, and delighting in the discoveries, creations, and talents of others. The Sonatinas are a revealing view into the birth of Schubert’s romantic voice. Whether the sturm und drang of the G Minor and its Haydn-esque representation of drama, the early Beethovenian poise, manner, and delight in the D Major, or the unabashed dramatic and unapologetic severity in the A Minor, (Lord Byron’s Manfred was written the same year!), these works show us young Schubert’s boundless expressive spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe piano is an Érard concert grand, built in Paris circa 1835. It is in immaculate condition, superbly conditioned by Frits Janmaat at Maison Érard in Amsterdam. Parallel-strung, and with dampers beneath the strings, the registers have clear distinction; the action is agile; the rich tonal depth is special. The violin is a rare find, built by Franz Kinberg after the Second World War and set up for late Classical and early Romantic historical instrument performance. The gut-strung violin is paired with an extraordinary bow made by John Dodd, London, circa 1800. This pre-modern, transitional bow is a perfect example of the bows still in favor in Vienna at the time the Sonatinas were composed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\"\u003e These are wonderful works whose considerable depths certainly belie the “sonatina” designation and whose structure and emotional heft Gajić and Carrettin explore with remarkable sensitivity and thoroughness—and with instrumental sound that is, in and of itself, a real joy to hear.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e– Infodad.com\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49052933161240,"sku":"053479224026","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3788036-2549966_7c7b5322-f2c6-4cb0-b1ca-603aa3a2c77e.jpg?v=1777655147"},{"product_id":"nutcracker-suite","title":"Nutcracker Suite","description":"With some justice, the 1970s are often dismissed as the decade                     that Style forgot. \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eBut while it’s true that many of us would prefer never again to contemplate the likes of platform shoes, hotpants, bell-bottom trousers and Brotherhood of Man, one icon of middle class culture from that generally unlamented decade remains with us to this day – the dinner party.  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eToday the 1970s dinner party is easy to caricature: prawn cocktail, chicken in a brick (the latter bought from the local Habitat store) and Black Forest gateau – all washed down with a bottle or two of trendy Blue Nun.  And there was always some music playing quietly in the background – \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e, unless you were very unlucky, from Brotherhood of Man but something selected to indicate the host’s cultural sophistication.  And surprisingly often, as I recall from the Hampstead and Highgate dinner party circuit of the time, that was a Turnabout LP of Vivaldi lute and mandolin concertos performed by Anton Stringl (lute), Paul Grund and Artur Rumetsch (mandolins) and the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra under Jörg Faerber.  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eYes, with all due respect to its devotees everywhere, the mandolin made – and continues to make – ideal background music and I’m not sure that many people will listen to this new CD with the rapt concentration that they’d give to a Beethoven string quartet or a piano recital from Alfred Brendel.  Indeed, a few listeners to whom I’ve played this disc had had quite enough after just a couple of tracks and others were frankly relieved to note its otherwise disgracefully short overall running time.  But as a pleasant and undemanding diversion it more than fits the bill.  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eThe 2003 line-up of the Modern Mandolin Quartet – Dana Rath and Matt Flinner (mandolins), Paul Binkley (guitar and mandola) and Gyan Riley (guitar and mandocello) – was clearly a very talented one.  Their potted biographies indicate that the players came from backgrounds that encompass jazz, rock and folk as well as classical music but some details may leave more than a few MusicWeb International readers bemused - thus the booklet notes reiterate \u003ci\u003eBluegrass Now\u003c\/i\u003e’s contention that “Flinner provides the next evolutionary step to David Grisman’s unique dawg style”.  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eIn general, though, with just one exception, the quartet’s stylistic eclecticism is kept in check in these relatively straightforward musical arrangements.  Miguel Llobet’s \u003ci\u003eFour Catalan folksongs\u003c\/i\u003e, none more than two minutes long,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eare simple and pleasant enough but are essentially unmemorable and would be best utilised as programme fillers or encores for live performances.    \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eThings perk up somewhat with the Tchaikovsky where the delicacy of much of the orchestration adapts quite effectively to the mandolin.  The Miniature Overture is vivacious and demonstrates the fine balance between the individual instruments established by the players - and the engineers?  The March and Russian Dance are both executed in the most lively and attractive manner; the Dance of the Mirlitons works well; but the slower, more atmospheric tracks disappoint, with an Arabian Dance that misses the subtle sultriness of Tchaikovsky’s original and a distinctly heavy-footed sugar plum fairy.  The undoubted highlight, not just of the suite but of the whole disc, is an account of the Waltz of the Flowers that goes with a real swing.  The performers’ huge enjoyment is very obvious and this would bring the house down in any live performance.  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eThe Delibes track is arranged in a way that suits the mandolins very effectively and the same is true of the Fauré, although sometimes the playing there is deliberate rather than dreamy.   The Fauré track will, indeed, divide listeners.  From about 3:40 we go, for the only time on the disc, into a distinctly jazzy and improvisatory mode for a couple of minutes: it’s not unpleasant at all – but it’s not Fauré either.  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eThe Vivaldi D major concerto was one of those included on that old dinner party Turnabout LP.  It is very attractive music, undemanding for the listener - if not the executants - and is well played here.  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eIt was, in fact, so effectively evocative that, immediately after playing it, I was inspired to head for the kitchen and, just half an hour later, was tucking in to a plate of delicious Chicken Kiev accompanied by garlic mushrooms and washed down with a can or two of refreshing Harp lager.  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003eOnly the absence of a power cut made me realise that I wasn’t back in the 1970s after all.     \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e-- Rob Maynard, MusicWeb International","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49052933194008,"sku":"053479212122","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1724556.jpg?v=1777655917"},{"product_id":"a-choral-christmas","title":"A Choral Christmas","description":"From the first few seconds of this new recording from Brian Jones and his Trinity Choir, you know it's Christmas. The flute and bell sounds, the dancing rhythm from the organ, the prodigiously joyful voices, and the catchy, unmistakably Rutter-esque melody combine to set off the sparks that promise a bright, happy, thoughtfully and lovingly compiled program. I say \"lovingly\" because this is the type of programming that, as usual with Jones, is not made with the \"snooty\" or \"snobbish\" in mind, but comes purely from the heart and from the experience of a director who knows and cares about the real listening tastes of his audience. (You've got to admire anyone who convincingly and with conviction programs \"The Holy City\" alongside works by Britten and Vaughan Williams, as he did on an earlier recording for Gothic Records.) And, as reflected here, those tastes, especially in Christmas music, cover a fairly wide range--from Rutter (three pieces) to Poulenc (O magnum mysterium) to Luboff (his well-loved arrangement of the Austrian carol Still, still, still).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The opening tune indeed is by John Rutter, a setting of the 15th-century text \"Sing we to this merry company\", and it's quickly followed by the Luboff arrangement, Gerald Near's setting of Ding! dong! merrily on high, and the well-known Pearsall version of In dulci jubilo. The combination of familiarity and audience-favorite continues throughout the rest of the 21 selections, with classics such as Rutter's all-time most-popular What sweeter music, Elizabeth Poston's Jesus Christ the apple tree, and Poulenc's motet O magnum mysterium. But mixed in among these revered gems are many less well-known pieces, including a snazzy, bluesy Noël nouvelet arranged by Stephen Jackson, Michael Head's charming and lovely The little road to Bethlehem, and of course a Charles Wood arrangement, Once as I remember (Wood is a Jones favorite).\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The choir, one of North America's treasures, always is a treat to hear, displaying not only an enormous stylistic command but also uncommon technical range and interpretive sensitivity. I've said this before, but it's still true: The soprano section would be the envy of any choir. However, the entire ensemble manages a consistent cohesiveness and sonic refinement that's rare among amateur choirs in any part of the world. Even in small details, the choir shows extraordinary care and attention--for instance, in the perfectly rendered endings to the simple but so-often-troublesome \"Gloria\" line in Ding! dong! merrily on high. And for sheer strength and unity of sound, listen to the choir's rendition of Holst's On this day earth shall ring. Other highlights include Bob Chilcott's Mid-winter, a setting of the Christina Rossetti text \"In the bleak mid-winter\" that's become an instant favorite all over the world. Jones himself contributes a very effective arrangement of O little town of Bethlehem that joins the two \"competing\" tunes St. Louis and Forest Green. Although I would prefer a warmer, softer-edged sound in the Poulenc to really capture the \"mysterium\" in the work, and slightly better-tuned tenors in some places (What sweeter music, for example), this is a first rate recording that will satisfy all listeners looking for an ideal all-around Christmas choral collection. The sound, made in Boston's Trinity Church, captures the detail of choir, organ, and occasional percussion while faithfully capturing the fullness and resonance of the church's magnificent space.\u003cbr\u003e --David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49164362481944,"sku":"053479324023","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/184399.jpg?v=1727274672"},{"product_id":"dear-mrs-kennedy","title":"Dear Mrs. Kennedy","description":"There is power in the written word. The words we say often go unremembered, spilling out into our world and never reaching another's ear. When words are important enough to write, they gain the power of history. When words are important enough to sing, they gain the power of humanity.    On November 22, 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while sitting next to his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy. For years to come after this infamous day, letters were written to Jackie, expressing condolences and confusion, the spectrum of grief memorialized in the written word. This project has sought to give voice to those letters, providing community for listeners sharing in that collective grief. It is a touchstone for turning inward and experiencing grief through the lens of a national tragedy.�    The music of Dear Mrs. Kennedy provides a communal journey to safely explore grief and spark conversation on the importance of human connection. Rather than President Kennedy or First Lady Jackie explicitly, the central character in this music is Grief itself: the grief of a nation-and of a world.�  -Ryan Townsend Strand, tenor","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49183972196632,"sku":"053479228406","price":12.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4368993-3232689.jpg?v=1777495540"},{"product_id":"persist","title":"Persist","description":"PERSIST    In celebration of the courage, patience and resilience displayed by people in times of great difficulty, Ethel, the GRAMMY�-winning, genre-defying string quartet, joins forces with Allison Loggins-Hull, composer, flutist, producer, and Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow to the Cleveland Orchestra. Together, they have elicited new commissions from four brilliant early-career composers: Migiwa \"Miggy\" Miyajima, Xavier Muzik, Sam Wu, and 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist, Leilehua Lanzilotti. Loggins-Hull herself contributed her own masterwork to the project. Passionate, committed, hopeful and inspiring, each piece contributes to an experience which surpasses the sum of it's parts.�    Taking it's title from Loggins-Hull's quintet, Persist marks the fifth iteration of HomeBaked, Ethel's commissioning program for early-career composers. The initiative, begun in 2010, has commissioned and debuted 20 works by 16 early-career artists. Loggins-Hull teamed with Ethel to solicit, select, and collaborate with composers from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Supported by two NEA grants, the program was premiered in 2022 at Brooklyn Public Library, and tours in 2024\/25.","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49238990422296,"sku":"053479228109","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4376112-3271926.jpg?v=1777495358"},{"product_id":"impermanence","title":"Impermanence","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA New York Times 25 Best Classical Music Track Selection for 2018\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eApostolo glorioso\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMigration of peoples across borders has shaped the human experience for millennia. While securing permanent shelter—a home—has become a goal for the majority of individuals in our world, migration remains one of our main strategies for survival. Today, tens of millions of individuals live a nomadic lifestyle as hunter gatherers or pastoralists. Pilgrims seek moral or spiritual significance through extended physical journeys. Immigrants and refugees seek freedom, stability, and safety in a new community or country. Whether physical or metaphysical, humanity survives by way of continuous movement—our culture, beliefs, and histories are marked by impermanence. Music functions as a container of meaning, a vehicle we have used for centuries to express and grapple with the ineffable. We want to capture music—to write it down with a notation that clearly defines and preserves our musical ideas for generations to come. Yet, we have struggled to create a collection of symbols that can fully express our intentions—intentions that go far beyond pitch and rhythm. With this evolution came an ever-expanding musical vocabulary, new levels of complexity, and an increased desire to prescribe performance practices with the pen. But music resists this containment—the possibilities precede and outlast the technology that seeks to write them down. The repertoire on this album is rife with symbolism and metaphor that further teases out concepts of impermanence, migration, and the transient nature of musical language. From the wordless vocalises of Takemitsu’s Windhorse depicting Tibetan nomads, to the 12th century polyphony of the Codex Calixtinus sung by pilgrims traveling along the Camino de Santiago, to the dramatic shifts of polyphonic style seen in the 15th century motets of Du Fay and the Turin Manuscript, to Peter Gilbert’s contemporary meditation on the phases of the moon—temporality is a common and unmistakable thread.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile it’s fun to dip in and sample, the album unfolds its full mesmerizing effect when you follow the singers on their squiggly line through music history, weaving together the ancient and the new in wondrous ways.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e– New York Times\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD + Blu-Ray","offer_id":49254252740888,"sku":"053479222626","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3822970_d741f3e4-04ff-4df9-bfb0-2c472afec925.jpg?v=1777655702"},{"product_id":"kom-vinur","title":"Kom vinur","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Kom vinur was composed in 2017 for the Skálholt Summer Concerts in Iceland when I was the composer in residency at the festival. A year later Maríuljóð was created. Both works are composed to poems by the Icelandic poet Vilborg Dagbjartsdóttir. The poems are the absolute core of the pieces; when composing them, I felt like excavating existing music from the text, unraveling hidden sounds from the words. Kom vinur has a somber undertone, a sense of loneliness and longing for sharing light and thoughts with a friend in the dark winter night. In Maríuljóð the tender view is through the eyes of a child observing subtle changes in nature and the seasons as well as asking the mother questions about the image of the Holy Mother.” (María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir) María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (b. 1980) is a composer and a violinist. She graduated as a violinist from the Reykjavik College of Music in 2000 and with a Bachelor’s degree in composition from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2007. Maria is a member of the band amiina from 1999. amiina has released and recorded several albums and performed their music around the world as well as collaborated with various artists. With amiina, Maria was a touring member and collaborator of Sigur Rós from 2000-2008.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI feel impelled at the outset to point out that this is an EP containing less than 10 minutes of music, but what beautiful music it is! Icelandic composer Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (b. 1980) writes of the two compositions on this recording that they are “composed to poems by the Icelandic poet Vilborg Dagbjartsdóttir. The poems are the absolute core of the pieces; when composing them, I felt like excavating music from the text, unravelling hidden sounds from the words. \u003cem\u003eKom vinur\u003c\/em\u003e has a somber undertone, a sense of loneliness and longing for sharing light and thoughts with a friend in the dark winter night. In \u003cem\u003eMaríuljóô \u003c\/em\u003ethe tender view is through the eyes of a child observing subtle changes in nature and the seasons as well as asking the mother questions about the image of the Holy Mother.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI don’t have access at the moment to the poems, but the choral music on this EP is so beautiful and moving that I feel inspired to see whether I can find the poems somewhere on the interweb. Meanwhile, I know that Sigfúsdóttir has composed other music; – This is a wonderful release, brief (but inexpensive) as it might be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e– Classical Candor (Karl Nehring)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49254252773656,"sku":"053479701923","price":5.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3890482-2656130.jpg?v=1777655503"},{"product_id":"manuscripts-dont-burn","title":"Manuscripts Don't Burn","description":"\u003cp\u003eManuscripts Don’t Burn is a famous line in Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita – the retelling of Faust, the 20th-century cult novel of an artist surviving in a Totalitarian regime, the love story, the burlesque with giant, vodka-drinking cats, and vampiric theater administrators.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eI first read the book as a kid, growing up in Soviet Odesa. I took it with me when my parents and I immigrated, as Jewish refugees running from antisemitism, through Austria and Italy, to the United States.  Crossing the border, I worried that guards would discover my book, and I would be severely punished. Throughout the years, the book played a role in my life. My childhood best friend from Odesa reread the book in adulthood and decided to find me - we are now together for 20 years, with two kids.  I read the book to my mother as she was dying from brain cancer. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBulgakov’s novel weaves through my own newly published memoir, Weight in the Fingertips - A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage (Backbeat Books, October 2023). I consider this very personal recording to be something of a mirror image to my memoir, as it intertwines the literal images from Master and Margarita with more autobiographical themes and layers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe five premieres, written for me and recorded here, are vastly different in styles and aesthetic. The understated, elegant Master and Margarita Suite by Veronika Krausas complements the wild, theatrical, brooding and extended techniques-filled “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” by Maya Miro Johnson.  Mike Garson’s Psalm to Odesa, an improvisatory ballad, with bits of my own improvisation based on a well-known Odesan song, sets off “Voices” by Ljova, a piece for piano and historical recordings of Jewish cantorial and klezmer music. Both take me back to my home city, currently under vicious attack, like the rest of Ukraine. The poetry I recite, sing and hum while performing the four-movement Godai - the Four Elements - is rounded off by the propulsive bravura whirlwind of Hero.  Fasil Say’s Black Earth takes the listener on a journey from Odesa across the Black Sea - a Turkish ballad and jazzy beats alternate with improvisatory melisma of a Turkish lute, played on muted strings of the piano. The rarely heard Notturno of Fanny Mendelssohn connects a gifted female voice to the others on this disc, as well as, perhaps, to the dark, impassioned character of Margarita. In Master and Margarita, “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” is spoken by Satan when he retrieves the manuscript of a novel presumed burnt – and in Clarice Assad’s “Godai”, Steve Schroeder’s poem depicts the loss of a manuscript in a fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe lieder of Schubert, transcribed for solo piano by Liszt, riffs on the mythical and the Faustian lore found also in Master and Margarita: Gretchen (Margarita) at the spinning wheel, a mystical love story by the sea, a monstrous Elf King and the death of a child, of innocence, of joy - one’s worst fear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis collection of music speaks to my love of dialogue between music and words. As in my Music\/Words series, where I pair poets with musical programs in the form of a recital\/reading, the connections between text and sound here are not just literal but emotional, based on memory, intuition, dreams, and hopes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e- Inna Faliks\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49254253723928,"sku":"053479227904","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/4327454-3147995.jpg?v=1777521525"},{"product_id":"rhizoma","title":"Rhízoma","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe present release is the exciting Sono Luminus reissue of Anna’s Thorvaldsdottir’s now classic first album. Long out of print, Rhizoma will now be available once again, both physically and on all digital platforms. The original release has been completely remastered by Daniel Shores at Sono Luminus. This release includes the Sono Luminus recording of “Dreaming”, recorded in 2016 and featured on the album ‘Recurrence?’ Rhizoma was a press sensation when released back in 2011. \"[The music on Rhizoma] is meticulously crafted and beautifully put together. The result is enchanting and poetic.\" (Jónas Sen, Icelandic Newspaper \u003cem\u003eFréttablaðið\u003c\/em\u003e) “The album is full of soundscapes that fill the head of the listener. ... Their bare nature makes them incredibly intriguing, something that is difficult to achieve, as it is a thin rope to walk on.” (Elena Saavedra Buckley, \u003cem\u003eSequenza21\u003c\/em\u003e) “Rhízoma is modern composition at its very best” (Richard Allen, \u003cem\u003eA closer listen\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eRhízōma\u003c\/em\u003e was originally issued on another pioneering American label, Innova, back in 2012. That disc was the first to be exclusively dedicated to Thorvaldsdottir’s music. There is one important difference with the reboot though: the orchestral essay \u003cem\u003eDreaming\u003c\/em\u003e has been re-recorded. This svelte new account benefits from the superb acoustics of Reykjavík’s splendid new Harpa Concert Hall.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\"\u003eThis re-boot of \u003cem\u003eRhízōma\u003c\/em\u003e is unmissable. Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s music might well oscillate between extremes of sensitivity and ferocity, but hers is an utterly independent and authentic voice. Hats off to Sono Luminus for continuing to recognise her stature and document her inexorable progress.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\"\u003e– MusicWeb International \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49254253789464,"sku":"053479701824","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3856798-2630612_e6ec1dea-74a3-4356-9d84-0307b80aaeff.jpg?v=1777656078"},{"product_id":"atonement","title":"ATONEMENT","description":"\u003cp\u003ePall Ragnar Palsson writes of his new release: “Composing is a meditative process I embark on in every piece I compose. It doesn’t feel like beginning a new journey with each composition though, rather continuing from where I left off in the last one. This continuity reflects in my music – one sound grows out of the last one, like branches of a tree. Associations and encounters find their way directly to the music, in terms of narrative, atmosphere or structure. It is a conscious process of translation of some kind, and I gratefully allow it to happen, never applying force or excess intellectual argumentation. All the technique I have learned is in service of that unstoppable movement, never dictating the flow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ethe DNA of my artistic development, I’d say there are two major factors that have influenced me. One of them is to have been born in Iceland, growing up in a protected environment that leaves one with the feeling (or illusion) that one is free to do anything he wants. Then again moving to Estonia to study composition made me re-evaluate my perceptions on life and art so far. The brisk salty breeze of the ocean got replaced by scent of burning wood rising from the chimneys of old houses near the forest and the playful indie scene of Reykjavik by sophisticated academic concert life in ancient churches and guildhalls of Tallinn. It was the environment where I found my musical language, plunged into East-European art and history, traveled and made friends, connected deeply with the spiritual approach Estonians have to music and their somewhat ancient character. One of those old souls I got to know is my wife Tui who sings on this album. Our singer-composer collaboration started right away and has tied together our professional and personal lives in an especially fulfilling way…”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49254253887768,"sku":"053479224125","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3802634-2563610.jpg?v=1777655894"},{"product_id":"seven-words-from-the-cross","title":"SEVEN WORDS FROM THE CROSS","description":"\u003cp\u003eSkylark is a premiere vocal ensemble of leading American vocal soloists, chamber musicians, and music educators. Skylark’s music has been described as: “sublimely beautiful” (Opera Obsession) “engrossing...reaches in through the ribs and grips the vitals” (Q2\/WQXR NY) “leave a hardened critic near tears” (Boston Music Intelligencer) With “some of Boston’s best singers” (Boston Globe) “Skylark can sway you softly into calm and then all but throw you across the room with sheer harmonic force” (Thought Catalog) The Project SEVEN: words from the cross, is a diverse and innovative program of music for Good Friday, pairing music from the United States with choral music from other parts of the world. This highly original album progresses through the scriptural seven last words of Christ on the Cross, pairing the music of William Billings and the Sacred Harp with the music of contemporary composers Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Jaakko Mäntyjärvi.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49254254313752,"sku":"053479223821","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/3783487-2939821.jpg?v=1777655863"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/collections\/Your_paragraph_text_3_343877cf-5ebb-40e0-93d7-3c89a8b01646.png?v=1752797316","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/collections\/sono-luminus-sale.oembed?page=17","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}