New Songs for Naumenko

Bespoke Songs Fontina Naumenko, soprano. Ensemble/Nadege Foofat; Julietta Curenton, flute. Colin Davin, guitar; Ryan Romine, bassoon. Marika Bournaki, piano; Julian Schwarz, cello. Nadia Pessoa, harp. New Focus Recordings 410 Total Time:  62:43 Recording:   ****/**** Performance: ****/****

In this new release from New Focus Recordings, soprano Fontina Naumenko presents four newly-commissioned works that provide a window into her versatility and artistry.  The texts used across the four projects are by female poets. These are included in the accompanying booklet.

The title work, Bespoke Songs (2022) opens the album.  Jonathan Newman’s 12-movement cycle is a combination of six new poems by Kristina Faust that are interspersed among settings of texts from six different poets in an equal number of languages.  The sensitivity of those latter settings creates some rather stunning moments in this engaging and tonal work.  The opening has a blend of open Copland-esque quality with a bit of jazzier inflections that pop up first in “The Admonition” and have a bit of Bernstein’s swagger (“Elegie”) from time to time.  This blending of slight popular music inflections within Newman’s tonal language makes for an engaging work.  The vocal line has moments of great lyricism that swell up into its higher registers for emotional impact.  The varied ensemble actually creates a wealth of interesting textural support additional interest.  A more Sondheim-like nuance in the way these accompaniments are employed works quite well here, especially with the unique color combinations and the subtle harmonic shifts Newman uses throughout.  It is a strong opening work with a sound parallel to contemporary musical theater.

Poetry by Emily Dickinson is the focus of Jennifer Jolly’s “Hope” is the Thing with Feathers (2023).  Here a guitar provides the harmonic undercurrent against which the vocal line weaves against a counterpoint and commentary from flute.  How to See an Angel (2023) by Carrie Magin provides another interesting blend of instrumentation and opens with a meditative bassoon idea.  The interaction between this instrument and the vocal line makes this a rather fascinating listen. The final work, Let Evening Come (2023) provides another exploration of unique colors with the accompaniment here assigned to cello and harp.  The harp becomes the harmonic support here with requisite flourishes as suggested by the text providing additional vocal support.  The cello serves as a darker color that adds a darker emotional impact.       

Naumenko has a gorgeous voice and it is given quite a workout to demonstrate the extent of her range.  Her mid-register has a beautiful tone and color to it that is equally enhanced by the way the respective accompaniment’s support, or in some cases blend, with it in these unique new works.  The instruments here are set a bit further behind the voice which is front and center in the sound picture.  Sound is otherwise quite crystal clear with must a bit of stretching on the higher end of the spectrum.  The booklet does not have a lot to say about the music here.  Instead there are a host of biographies for all the performers featured here.  This is part of the homage to public performance and collaboration that Naumenko shares as her point here in creating new music with concert settings in mind.  For those who appreciate new sounds and voices in contemporary art song writing there is a lot here to recommend further listening and exploration.