Pat’s new CD on Navona released
Pat’s newest CD, Good News Falls Gently, has now been released on Navona Records. It features settings of texts by acclaimed Canadian author Margaret Atwood, African-American poet/composer Regina Harris Baiocchi, and showcases performances by Carolyn Hove, Jonita Lattimore, Abraham Stokman, Barbara Ann Martin, and Caroline Pittman. It is available through iTunes, at Amazon.com and through many other digital and physical distribution sources.
Here’s the official release:
Composer/oboist Patricia Morehead and Navona Records are pleased to announce Ms. Morehead’s second CD, Good News Falls Gently, officially released in July, 2011. Her previous recording, Cityscape (for full orchestra) is on the ERM label (Kiev Symphony Orchestra).
GOOD NEWS FALLS GENTLY features “Disquieted Souls”, inspired by pre-Christian Celtic legends of goddesses and the supernatural; “The Handmaid’s Tale”, motivated by the chilling, futuristic writing of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood; “It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers”, a reflection on modern times and the proclivity towards bad news; “Ladders of Anxiety”, an abstract work inspired by colorful medical charts that taps into our inner anxieties; and “Good News Falls Gently”, a setting of the poetry of Chicago-based writer Regina Harris Baiocchi that portrays an intense spiritual faith from a feminist perspective.
Compositions on Good News Falls Gently:
DISQUIETED SOULS (2009) was recorded June 12, 2010 at WFMT studio, featuring Carolyn Hove, English Horn; and Philip Morehead, conductor.
THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1998) is inspired by the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. The four movements of this composition reflect the composer’s passionate reading of the Atwood text. It was recorded live in Toronto at a concert of Ensemble Noir; Abraham Stokman & Philip Morehead, pianists.
IT IS DANGEROUS TO READ NEWSPAPERS (1999) is based on a poem of the same title from the collection The Animals in That Country (1968) by Margaret Atwood. It was recorded by WFMT’s “Live from Studio One” on October 28, 2002, featuring Barbara Ann Martin, soprano; Philip Morehead, piano.
LADDERS OF ANXIETY (2007) for flute/alto flute, guitar and string trio is dedicated to Claire Chase and ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble). It was recorded by WFMT’s “Live from Studio One” on February 4, 2008, featuring Caroline Pittman, flute, James Baur, guitar, and members of the Avalon Quartet.
The title track, GOOD NEWS FALLS GENTLY (1995), a setting for soprano and orchestra of the poetry of Chicago poet/composer Regina Harris Baiocchi, recorded live March 16, 2003 at the Harold Washington Library, Chicago, IL, and performed by CUBE Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (Jonita Lattimore, soprano; Philip Morehead, conductor).
There was a CD Release event on September 25th at Elizabeth Stein Company in Chicago.
But it was Morehead’s “It Is Dangerous To Read Newspapers” that seemed most relevant. Set to a Margaret Atwood poem about the cruelties of war, it’s ferocious in anger and anguish while sinking into deep pessimism. Soprano (Barbara Ann) Martin neatly conveyed the ambivalence urged on by Philip Morehead’s vigorous pounding.
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