Composer Hannah Lash writes music that is informed in equal measure by historical precedents, such as the Baroque inspired "Suite: Remembered and Imagined," as it is by a modernist examination of instrumental phenomenon, such as the dual meaning of the word "Pulse" as it pertains to bow changes as well as beatings in closely spaced sonorities. A virtuoso harpist in her own right, she joins the acclaimed JACK Quartet for "Filigree in Texture," a work integrating aspects of Middle Ages tapestry with early contrapuntal practice. Hailed by The New York Times as the "nation's most important quartet", the JACK Quartet is one of the most acclaimed, renowned, and respected groups performing today. JACK has maintained an unwavering commitment to their mission of performing and commissioning new works, giving voice to underheard composers, and cultivating an ever-greater sense of openness toward contemporary classical music. Over the past season, they have been selected as Musical America's 2018 "Ensemble of the Year", named to WQXR's "19 for 19 Artists to Watch", and awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant.
Yale Choral Artists has rapidly established itself as one of the most innovative professional choirs in the world, and its recordings of works by three Yale composers showcase the breadth of contemporary American choral music. They include the powerful ‘statement to the court’ by David Lang, whose ‘the little match girl passion’ won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Ted Hearne’s ‘Consent’ uses four disparate texts in a complex personal exploration of the role of language in his life, while Hannah Lash’s ‘Requiem’ is an expression of sorrow framed through a re-translation of the Latin text. Lang’s work as well as Lash’s are receiving here their world premiere recordings.
