Choral music continues to be stretched to new limits and there are two releases that take quite different approaches to the textures and sounds that can be created with the human voice.

The more experimental of the two is Fall and Decline (Navona 6359), a five-movement work that explores human hubris, civilizational decline and possible hope by Gregory W. Brown.  The texts are rather wide ranging from historical accounts as diverse as an ancient battle ("but after six years" to Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.  Each text addresses a variety of ways time might carry on overcoming the ever-marching ends of time.  Contemporary effects abound including a fascinating section of manipulation electronic textures and sounds for moments that can be quite disturbing ("After the President's Speech You Dream of Corpses").  It is a quite intense work handled excellently by the group Variant 6.

On a more traditional note, the collection of Vocal Works by composer Brian Feld brings us back to more traditional American Choral traditions (Navona 6360).  This is clear from the opening gospel-like jazz of By and By, and equally gorgeous writing in Let the Light Shine on Me (both performed by the Budapest Chorus) to more contemporary writing that can be heard in his work for tenor and orchestra based on poetry by Pablo Neruda, Tres Canciones de Amor.  A bit of Broadway satire appears in Let's Build A Wall which provides a fine contrast the setting of a traditional Sephardic piece.  These both are scored for soloist and orchestral ensemble.  The album concludes with a more intense setting of poetry by e e cummings.  The six songs in the cycle Chimneys, sonnets-realities make for a rather harsher experience in this work for baritone with its more modern, harsh harmonies and dissonances.  But, it does give listeners a chance to hear Feld's wide compositional capabilities.

Finally, from earlier in the year is a release featuring music by the much-admired Czech composer Ilja Hurnik (1922-2013), Gratias (Navona 6350).  The performances feature the Jitro Czech Girls Choir and provide a variety of traditional choral pieces that reveal the great depth as well as wit of Hurnik.  The opening Variations on a Mouse Theme is a great little exploration with nods to Bach and Haydn.  Hurnik's music has an often folk-like quality that captivates the listener through these works that provide interesting descriptive settings.  The album culminates with the more recent mass setting Missa Vinea Crucis (1991).  The five pieces on this album allow a great window into the musical language of this composer whose music certainly deserves the wider recognition beyond his homeland.  Easily recommended to choral music fans!

Heard Again For the First Time
Paul Cohen, alto saxophone.
Eastern Wind Symphony/Todd Nichols;
Roger Nye, bassoon; Rebecca Cypress, harpsichord;
Kathleen Nester, flute; Lynne Cohen, oboe; Allison Brewster Franzetti, piano;
Brett Deubner, viola; Kaoru Hinata, flute.
Ravello Records 8057
Total Time:  70:06
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

Ravello records has pulled together several performances by alto saxophonist Paul Cohen for this release of rare works for the instrument.  The music here is an interesting collection of mostly 20^th Century works with a more recent piece by Steve Cohen (1954-) helping to round things off.

Of particular interest to many will be the opening work on the album, Ingolf Dahl’s (1912-1970) Concerto for Alto Saxophone.  Dahl revised this work several times but this recording gives us a chance to hear it in its original version for wind band.  Composed for Sigurd Rascher between 1948-49, the piece would receive a number of performances but Dahl would then tweak the piece.  First, he changed up the orchestration and simplified the solo part, and later would come back and cut seven minutes of the piece which is the version in publication today.  Cohen unearthed the original version and has brought it back to make this world premiere recording of the piece.  It does indeed feel like a quite involved work to play presenting a variety of challenges both technical and interpretatively.  A good sense of rhythmic precision is needed as well as a careful balancing of the different sections of the band against the soloist.  The recording here is a bit dry acoustically which actually aids the music and lends it a bit more clarity.  The high altissimo register of the instrument can seem a bit harsh, but Cohen manages to overcome this with some rather touching lyrical playing.

Swiss composer Marguerite Roesgen-Champion (1894-1976) is perhaps less well-known but was an early champion of the harpsichord and wrote a number of works for the instrument.  She was one of the most highly-regarded performers on the instrument and equally respected as a composer.  Her Concerto No. 2 (1945) shows off some of the Neo-Baroque interests that were resurfacing mid-century with equal touches of post-impressionism.  The work is for alto sax, bassoon, and harpsichord which makes for a rather fascinating collection of sonorities to explore across the four brief movements.

Though well-respected as a composer in his lifetime, Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935) was overshadowed by the shift of musical tastes after his death.  His music tends to be quite colorful and brilliantly orchestrated.  His Ballade Carnavalesque (1903) is one of the earliest chamber works to include the alto saxophone which makes it of historical interest.  It is a rather episodic 13-minute work also apparently receiving a recording premiere (?) here.  Loeffler never published this piece and actually reused some of it for his A Pagan Poem, so we have Cohen to thank for dusting off this unique work that is like a piano quintet for winds where the sax takes over the role from the clarinet. Also included is the brief The Lone Prairie (c. 1930) for viola, sax, and piano.  One can see here that Loeffler continued to be quite aware of current interests in Americana which makes this a fascinating curiosity.

The final work on the album is Steven Cohen’s Trio (2018) which Cohen commissioned for one of his students.  Cast in three movements, the work pairs the sax with flute and piano.  There is an interesting arch-like opening movement.  The central movement is a “Slow Blues” exploring song form and interesting duet between the wind soloists.  The finale provides for an exciting conclusion with its incorporation of Afro-Cuban music.

There are plenty of things to recommend this release beyond the repertoire itself, though that should be enticement enough.  Cohen’s performances are all quite engaging.  The Dahl is not an easy work, but he certainly convinces us otherwise.  The balance in the chamber pieces also helps further illustrate the versatility that these composers recognized in the alto saxophone.