The Big “Why”

I fell in love with classical song in college. My high school teachers had assigned me a few German Lied or French Chanson here and there, but my true exploration of this endless and varied repertoire began in the Sibley library at the Eastman School of Music. This library is the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere - boasting a recorded sound collection of more than 100,000 LPs, CDs, and tapes. I spent hundreds of happy hours in the listening room, often staying until the library closed listening for new voices that inspired me, composers who intrigued me, and songs I was desperate to sing. Each album contained endless adventures, one song perhaps feeding me five or six more new avenues to explore. I knew, way back then, that song would be at the center of my artistic life.
So far, in my career, I have experienced the joy of performing opera, oratorio, and song all over the world and have had the privilege of collaborating with some truly unique musicians and composers. As wonderful as this has been, the nature of live performance is temporary, fleeting. One of my goals as an artist is to leave something behind; something beautiful that will comfort, entertain, and inspire future generations; something that, with any luck, will find its way into the Sibley library to inspire and entertain others.
The Songs of Dominick Argento is my first recording in what I hope will be an extensive collection of recorded song repertoire – with a strong focus on modern American song. These recordings will be available as CD’s as well as on digital streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Your generous donation will help cover the costs of production, fairly compensate the artists involved, and go towards the commissioning of new works by contemporary composers.
Life is short, but Art is long, and – as my father used to say – the internet is forever.
Thank you for helping me create something of lasting beauty.

Songs of Dominick Argento

Our debut album consists of three song cycles by American composer, Dominick Argento. The first is the beautiful "Casa Guidi", on texts drawn from letters of Elizabeth Barett Browning. The only existing recording of this cycle is with a full orchestra, and pianist Peter Walsh and I are thrilled to bring it to life with the intimacy of just piano and voice. Our second cycle is the Pulitzer prize-winning "From the Diary of Virginia Woolf" – a dramatic tour de force that maps the iconic author's struggle with mental illness through selected journal passages, starting from her first entry in 1919 to the one made in 1941 just days before she took her own life. Peter and I look forward to offering a fresh, nuanced, and emotionally-driven take on this modern classic.
Our final cycle is the tongue and cheek comedy of "Miss Manners on Music" in which readers write to the famed advice columnist with questions on how to behave in various musical settings. To our knowledge, no recording of this cycle exists, and we are so excited to be the first!

Songs of Dominick Argento Album

By Levis Arts

Songs of Dominick Argento Album

a beautiful studio recording of three song cycles of the beloved American composer

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