SCI 32: FLARE

Navona Records proudly presents Flare, recordings by members of the Society of Composers, Inc. Now in it's 32nd installment, it offers a veritable cross-section of some of the most original voices in composition today. The album opens with 20-year-old Vaibhav Mohanty's Rhapsody No. 1 (2017), traveling through elements of Western classical composition, jazz, and Indian traditional music with such well-proportioned naturalness and ease, it bears all the telltale signs of an instant repertoire classic. Robert Strobel's Refugees, a dynamic piano composition reminiscent of Takemitsu, explores the human drama of displacement in profoundly thought-out rhythmic and melodic structures. Continuing with the musical tradition of the 20th century, Keith Kramer transcends Olivier Messiaen's harmonic heritage in his oboe/piano duo L'etere del Tempo. Rejuvenated by Matthew J. Jaskot perambulates a futuristic universe of musical expression in seven diverse piano variations, miraculously springing forth from a simple pentatonic melody. In contrast, Jonathan Graybill draws inspiration from ancient Cherokee mysticism and lends a mysterious voice to the black-capped chickadee in Tsigili'I, illustrating it's mythological association as a messenger of wisdom and truth. In Song of the Avadhut, Romanian composer Gabriel Malancioiu aims to affect human consciousness in an avant-gardesque duet between soprano and violin, influenced by the teachings of modern and ancient mystics. Jacob Thiede's When All Else Fails contrasts the sonorous texture of a tuba with the mathematical perfection of computerized sine tones. In Dreams Interrupted, Mark W. Phillips fuses jazz, blues, and classical elements into a rhapsodic tribute to the cultural heritage of Memphis TN.