L'infinito is Giacomo Leopardi's famous and emblematic poem. The choice of this poem as the sole textual material for the composition of this set of vocal pieces was dictated as much by the evident musicality of Leopardi's verses as by the immense dreamlike openness of his imagination. The musicality of this language, the tonic accents specific to Italian, of course, but also the rhythm provided by the particular scansion of these fifteen verses. The multiplicity and diversity of the themes addressed by Leopardi, in only 15 verses, offer the composer a range of perspectives, paths to follow, and characters to explore, such that the challenge required diversity in the vocal treatment as well (since this is only a question of song, without instrumental intervention). This also justified the formal division into several pieces, each treating an aspect of the poem, sometimes fragmented, in a particular mode of vocal expression. After exploring registers ranging from simple declamation to the greatest vocal virtuosity, from the extremely low to the very high, from one single voice to several, the work concludes with nothing but the singers' respiration (breathing) recorded in an anechoic chamber the body's own rustling, now voiceless, expressing itself solely through breath. This music was originally written for the choreographic performance entitled 'Sanguine,' choreographed by Nadine Hernu. P.M.

A Forest Unfolding is a collaborative work inspired by recent scientific research into the rich communication and subterranean connectivity between trees. Four writers-the environmentalists Bill McKibben and Joan Maloof, along with the novelists Richard Powers and Kim Stanley Robinson-selected prose passages and poems on the relations among people and trees. They presented these selections to four composers-Eric Moe, Melinda Wagner, Stephen Jaffe, and David Kirkland Garner-who set these words into a linked sequence of recitatives and arias. The resulting whole traces a narrative arc beginning with human estrangement from nature and ending with a glimpse of the endless cooperation that knits a forest together.

Los Angeles-based composer Noah Meites releases a collection of his chamber music that chronicles his vibrant artistic voice and his role as an active member of that city's fertile contemporary music community. Featuring performances by Brightwork New Music, HOCKET, Linnea Powell, richi valitutto, New Thread Quartet, and Meites' own ensemble LA Signal Lab, COUNTING is a vital snapshot of a prolific artist in one of the United States' most vital new music scenes.

It crunches, rustles, whispers, rattles, bubbles - extended playing techniques, preparations, and various everyday materials produce a seemingly endless variety of sounds in Eloain Lovis H�bner's compositions. H�bner does not understand sound as fixed material, but rather as a state or "as a living relationship between bodies - instrumental, vocal or electronic," as booklet author Sophie Emilie Beha describes it. "The music is constantly in motion, attracting, repelling, tilting, shimmering, breaking apart, and reassembling itself. It creates spaces in which listening itself becomes a physical experience: focused, fragile, and yet full of energy." Two series of works are at the heart of the album. "crunch modes 1.0" (Schallfeld Ensemble) and "crunch modes 3.0" (Sp�ldzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble) initially reveal what is typical of H�bner's composing - they zoom between micro- and macrocosm and move between structure and loss of control, accumulation and decay, and radicalism and delicacy. "Trauma und Zwischenraum" [Trauma and Interstice] was composed under the influence of the coronavirus pandemic and features three very different instrumentations: in the first part of the work, the ensemble airborne extended plays the recorder, flute, prepared harp, and harpsichord. In the second part, the musicians of the Arditti Quartet swap their bows for whisks, corks, or toothbrushes, creating acoustic metaphors. In the third part, interpreted by the Lange//Berweck//Lorenz Trio, hybrid sound bodies such as accordion plus effects unit or Korg MS 20 Mini with electric guitar are used. In "[untitled]," the only vocal work on the album, AuditivVokal Dresden deals with nonsense speech, noise imitation, and film language, referring to the legendary airport scene from the film "Casablanca".

This album presents four works by leading Polish composers, written especially for Sinfonietta Cracovia. Composed over the past five years and recorded here for the first time, these pieces showcase the remarkable breadth of today's Polish contemporary music. Spanning everything from bold tonal writing to daring microtonal textures, from driving, high-energy drama to immersive soundscapes enhanced by electronics, the album offers a vivid listening experience. Standout virtuoso performances by violinists Piotr Tarcholik and Maciej Lulek, along with the Krakow Wind Quintet, add star power and brilliance, inviting listeners to discover fresh, compelling voices of modern Polish music through the artistry of this acclaimed Krakow ensemble.

Duos and quartets by Wojciech Chalupka-winner of the Tadeusz Baird Competition, composer and saxophonist, and member of the acclaimed Nemesis Quartet-go far beyond personal reflections on philosophical questions. These works represent chamber music at it's highest level, brought to life in outstanding performances, including a live recording by the legendary Arditti Quartet. Striking, unconventional instrumental pairings, boundless imagination, and an effortless command of diverse musical styles define Chalupka's distinctive and compelling compositional voice.

a�pe�ri�od�ic is a Chicago-based experimental music ensemble founded in 2010 and directed by Nomi Epstein, featuring post-Cagean notated experimental music. Their second release on New Focus features an album-length work by Magnus Granburg written for the ensemble, Aus der Nacht, von den Wehen, a forty-five-minute episodic work comprised of 71 distinct sections that explore subtle changes in attack, decay, resonance, and pitch, using an indeterminate notation to inject variability into it's performance.

This album features songs to poetry by 20th- and 21st-century writers, composed by an artist whose vocal-instrumental works stand at the heart of his oeuvre. A stripped-down, almost minimalist sonic language shapes a meditative, introspective atmosphere-one that encourages philosophical reflection beyond the album's overarching theme of love. The two singers, commanding expansive operatic range and color, bring heightened drama and emotional intensity, carefully building tension and captivating the listener from the first note to the last.

Movses Pogossian and his colleagues in the Armenian Music Project continue their tireless advocacy for the music of Armenia with this ambitious 4-CD collection, Stanzas in August. At the heart of the release are two sub-collections devoted entirely to the music of Ashot Zohrabyan and Koharik Gazarossian, two consequential composers who shaped Armenian music far beyond their own oeuvres. The other discs include lesser-known works by Aram Khachaturian, Tigran Mansurian, and Ghazaros Saryan, as well as premieres of piano miniatures by Artur Avanesov, and premieres by Vahram Sargsyan and Aram Hovhannisyan.

The Percussion Collective, under the artistic guidance of Robert van Sice, presents the album Seaborne, an extraordinary journey across the ocean where music and imagery converge to reveal the sea in all it's wonder. From the soaring aerial vistas of Mauritius to the sunlit waters of Hawai'i, composer Garth Neustadter and video artist Kjell van Sice transform the natural world into a living, breathing presence. The work's three movements - Above, At, and Within - explore the ocean from sky, surface, and depths, blending dynamic percussion, piano, marimbas, vibraphones, and haunting vocalises to evoke the sea's beauty, turbulence, and mystery. This immersive collaboration goes beyond mere portraiture, offering a meditation on humanity's relationship with the ocean. As waves rise, swell, and calm, listeners are invited to witness the fragile coexistence between life and water, and to reflect on the profound power of our planet's greatest resource.