Clarice Jensen ~ in holiday clothing out of the great darkness

The album title is a quotation from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, which includes the phrase “what steps forth, in holiday clothing, out of the great darkness.”  Cellist Clarice Jensen regards the image as a metaphor for the

Halvcirkel ~ Vida

After a decade of reinventing other composers’ works, Danish string quartet Halvcirkel is stepping out with an album of all-original sounds.  Vida, named after a Swedish summer home, is cozy and welcoming, its warmth derived from the quartet’s desire to “braid” their

ACL 2021 ~ The Top 20 Albums of the Year

If 2020 was the most surreal year in recent memory, 2021 was the runner-up.  A rollercoaster of emotion was supplanted by a mountain of malaise.  And yet, many artists broke through with the finest albums of their careers.  Some of

ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Modern Composition

This year, we reviewed more modern composition albums than those in any other genre ~ not because more were submitted, but because their overall quality was so high.  We read this trend early in our Spring Music Preview, and it