“Cappella SF’s disc of music by Conrad Susa and David Conte makes a perfect CD to listen to while lying in bed with the New York Times on a lazy Sunday morning. The music of both men, longtime friends and composing colleagues at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, is rich in the senses of regard, reflection, tonality and repose. Written exquisitely for the uniquely expressive toolkit of musical tones and colours a chamber choir is capable of, these heartfelt, intimate responses to the poetry of James Joyce, Whitman, Lorca and John Stirling Walker, librettist for Conte’s Elegy for Matthew in honour of Matthew Shepard, are like musical love letters, with shimmering ecstasy always in the background.…In addition to providing Cappella SF with the opportunity to show how comprehensively they go beyond the notes to find the music’s heart, the flash of Susa’s wonderful piano writing in the second of his Six Joyce Songs, played by Keisuke Nakagoshi with relish and splendid panache, shows his masterful writing for instruments as well.” —Laurence Vittes, Gramophone
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