Fatima Dunn Waiting For Landfall (2021)

Beginning with his expansive concerto for recorders and large orchestra, Territorial Songs (2008-09), Rasmussen sought to expand the instrument's persona and possibilities, freeing it from its historic associations with the music of the Renaissance and Baroque, pushing it into new territories. In this mission, the composer has been exceptionally fortunate to have as muse and musical partner one of the greatest recorder players ever, Michala Petri. The current project represents an overview of works composed from 2009 to 2020. All are scores featuring the recorder: as concerto soloist with a symphony orchestra, (Territorial Songs), a string ensemble (Winter Echoes), an obbligato in a complex choral setting ('I' ), chamber music (Flow), and unaccompanied (Sorrow and Joy Fantasy), each work a milestone in Rasmussen's musical development .

Critically acclaimed, Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter and violinist Amanda Shires will be releasing a Christmas album in November 2021. Nine out of eleven tracks will be original songs. Amanda has released five solo studio albums, is a member of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and is a founding member of The Highwomen along with Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby. Through the years, she has toured and recorded with notable artists including John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver, Todd Snider, Shovels and Rope, Gregg Allman, Justin Townes Earle and more, including her husband Jason Isbell.

Conjuring a next-generation fusion of folk, soul, gospel, country and transcendental blues, The Moon and Stars, Prescriptions For Dreamers, Valerie June’s third full-length album for Fantasy Records is a deeply affecting work of genuine beauty and unassuming wonder. Produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys, John Legend) and Valerie June and recorded at Fresh Young Minds in Los Angeles, CA and Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, FL., the new album is her first release since 2017’s highly acclaimed The Order of Time and features 11 songs and three musical interludes, all written by Valerie.

On two highly praised discs, Susanna Mälkki and her players in the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra have released recordings of Béla Bartók’s three scores for the stage – The Miraculous Mandarin, The Wooden Prince and Bluebeard’s Castle, all written before 1918. The team now takes on two of his late orchestral masterpieces. Composed in 1936 for the Basel Chamber Orchestra, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is one of the purest examples of Bartók’s mature style, with its synthesis of folk music, classicism and modernism. One immediately striking feature is the unusual instrumentation: two string orchestras seated on opposite sides of the stage, with percussion and keyboard instruments in the middle and towards the back.