“More than 20 years ago, the music critic John Rockwell described Ben Johnston in the New York Times as ‘one of the best nonfamous composers this country has to offer.’ What has changed is that Johnston is now, I'd suggest, our best nonfamous composer.”
— Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times

Ben Johnston - String Quartet #9 | I

Grammy®Award winning guitarist John Schneider performs Modern Masterworks based on antique models in their Historic Temperaments.

2 Mudarra - Fantasia

1 Ponce - Preludio In E

The compositions on this CD span the fifty years of my career (?) as a composer, from the early 1970s to the present. -David B. Doty

Doty - Parthenion

Bonus tracks for The First Fifty Years by David B. Doty.

Doty - Bonus 1 | Hocket

With Memories of a Shadow, Chris Votek makes a bold debut as both a traditionalist performing Hindustani raga on cello, and an innovative composer refracting Indian Classical music through the lens of modern chamber music.

“I returned to California with a new vision, my soul brimming with inspiration, and my mind a whirlwind of raga melody. I imagined an ancient past where the world was small and the sacred music of Medieval Europe and Ancient India intertwined. What would it sound like if the great Khyal singers experimented with counterpoint, or if choirs of the church conjured ragas in their daily practice? This visualization was the foundation of Memories of a Shadow, program music telling the story of this imagined society’s creation myth.” - Chris Votek

Memories of a Shadow | III. Migration of the Fires

Beloved poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892) invented a new poetic language to express himself “…freely, fully and truly.” Musical visionary Cris Forster (b. 1948) invented new musical instruments for the same reason. Written for Chrysalis I, Harmonic/Melodic Canon, and voice, Song of Myself: Intoned Poems of Walt Whitman is a setting of eleven poems from Whitman’s masterwork, Leaves of Grass. Forster performed his work at the prestigious Berlin Music Festival, then returned home to create this memorable recording in 1980. In perfect concord with Whitman’s poetry, Forster infused his music with personal energy, passionate spirit, and free-thinking individuality. 

Forster - Song of Myself | I am the poet of the Body

World Class musicians and disciples of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar share an exquisite hour of deeply meditative, healing, and soul cleansing music. Sitar and sarod accompanied by upright bass for the first time, bringing a contemporary and contrapuntal touch to the timeless elegance of a single classical raga in two extended movements.  Paul and Partho bring this time-honored melody to new audiences while celebrating the beloved strings of East and West. 

Dive - Raga Kedar Alaap

GRAMMY® winning & triple nominee producer John Schneider and GRAMMY® nominated pianist Aron Kallay, themselves critically acclaimed performers of ‘microtonal’ music, created MicroFest Records to share their love of exciting repertoire that is simply unavailable anywhere else. Releases include world premiere studio recordings, as well as live performances from two decades of California’s celebrated MicroFest:

“World Class…” – Alan Rich, LA Weekly

“Performers were of a caliber that kept this listener in a state of continual astonishment.” – Mark Swed, LA Times

“After prolonged exposure to the rich, kaleidoscopic world of microtones, returning to equal-tempered music was like going back to black and white after spending a weekend immersed in color…” – Wall Street Journal

Ben Johnston - String Quartet #9 | I

MicroFest Records

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