For Your GRAMMY® Consideration
RITUALS
Art Songs by Charles Ives, Reynaldo Hahn, and William Bolcom
Laura Choi Stuart, soprano · Tanya Blaich, piano
- Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
- Best Recording Package
- Best Album Notes
RITUALS brings together three contrasting voices in song: Charles Ives’s American scenes of community and family, the imagined antiquity of Reynaldo Hahn’s Études latines, and the intimate domestic moments of William Bolcom’s Jane Kenyon cycle Briefly It Enters.
Shaped as a full recital program, the album is the first commercial release of Briefly It Enters since its premiere recording in 2001. The packaging, with sung texts and notes in separate booklets, features photography of the preserved New Hampshire home of poet Jane Kenyon.
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Credits
- Soprano
- Laura Choi Stuart
- Piano
- Tanya Blaich
- Producer
- Mike McCarthy
- Recording & Mastering Engineer
- Joel Gordon
- Art Direction & Design
- Geoffrey Silver
- Photography
- Elisabet Juan
- Album Notes
- Laura Choi Stuart
- Executive Producer
- Geoffrey Silver
- Recorded
- Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston · August 6–8, 2025
At the Sessions
Press
“A disc to treasure.”
Ralph P. Locke, The Arts Fuse
“Any lover of art song will want to hear this: a genre alive and well in the hands of these profoundly accomplished performers.”
Dominic Hartley, MusicWeb International
“Artistry is never in question…Laura Choi Stuart projects a clean, clear soprano”
David Patrick Stearns, Gramophone
On the Package & Notes
“A deluxe physical presentation by Acis that includes two booklets, one for her commentaries and the other for song lyrics. Such a lavish treatment is warranted when the project has been created with so much care by its performers.”
Ron Schepper, Textura
“Rituals…feels like a handcrafted object made by a highly experienced artisan.”
Ralph P. Locke, The Arts Fuse
“Everything one could wish in a recording has been thoughtfully accomplished here, not least the two booklets…”
Ralph P. Locke, The Arts Fuse
“Before you listen to a note, you’re aware that the beautiful packaging of the CD is making a point.”
Dominic Hartley, MusicWeb International
“…many beautiful photographs of the visit to Eagle Pond Farm which add real contextual value.”
Dominic Hartley, MusicWeb International
“…the exemplary packaging of the song texts and Choi Stuart’s first class programme notes.”
Dominic Hartley, MusicWeb International
“…detailed program notes by Choi Stuart that provide ample song-by-song insights and context.”
Ron Schepper, Textura
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Released on Acis. Recording Academy members can review the Academy’s voting and solicitation guidelines.