Vocalisms
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Superlative repertoire and performances -- a great addition to the American art song discography.

Two performers passionate about American art song -- soprano Mary Mackenzie and pianist Heidi Louise Williams perform a program of songs by John Harbison, James Primosch, Daniel Crozier and Ned Rorem. Mary Mackenzie, who has captured the attention of audiences throughout the United States, has been described by the New York Times as "a soprano of extraordinary agility and concentration," and the Boston Globe as "sensational." She has appeared as a recitalist, a soloist with orchestras and as a chamber musician with the best known ensembles in the U.S. Her discography includes recording on the Albany and Bridge record labels. Pianist Heidi Louise Williams has appeared in solo and collaborative recitals across North America, in Europe and Asia. She has been praised by New York critic Harris Goldsmith for her "impeccable soloistic authority" and Dazzling performances." On the faculty at Florida State University College of Music, her recording for Albany Records received rave reviews from critics.
Contents:
John Harbison, composer
Vocalism: A Grand Aria for Soprano & Piano
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

James Primosch, composer
Waltzing the Spheres
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

John Harbison, composer
Seven Poems of Lorine Niedecker
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

James Primosch, composer
Three Folk Hymns
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

Daniel Crozier, composer
from Songs for the Walters
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

James Primosch, composer
Shadow Memory
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

Daniel Crozier, composer
Four Poems of Emily Dickinson
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

Ned Rorem, composer
Another Sleep: III
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

Daniel Crozier, composer
The Rainbow Comes and Goes
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

Daniel Crozier, composer
And, Daylight…
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

Daniel Crozier, composer
After-Song
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

Daniel Crozier, composer
The Fire of a Wild White Sun
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

James Primosch, composer
Holy the Firm
Mary Mackenzie (soprano); Heidi Louise Williams (piano)

Review:
"…Be of good cheer, then, if you’re among those who have bemoaned the “death” of the art song. It might be harder to encounter works such as these in a concert hall setting, but composers are still producing gems—and artists such as Mary Mackenzie and Heidi Louis Williams are polishing them to achieve maximum glow." (What Greg Says)This engrossing collection of American songs, most written after 2000, is not only enjoyable in itself but allows the listener to reflect on the state of the art.…If there is a common thread running through these 15 diverse art songs, it is spiritual and metaphysical, expanding the definition to include the ecstasy of immediate experience, the transient radiance of sunlight, and the inexorable passing of time. The performers, lyric soprano Mary Mackenzie and pianist Heidi Louise Williams, have selected material that leans in this direction, and it feels like contemporary America in our second Gilded Age for composers to turn away from crass materialism to peer into the light of the inner world—Ives would have agreed, I think.…The trick is to make the intimate and other-worldly feel like something personal and beautiful, which both singer and pianist quite successfully do.…" (Fanfare)
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