BECOME A PATRON OF THE ARTS:
ORDER AN ADVANCE COPY OF HARMONIA CAELESTIS
Mignarda's New CD: Harmonia Caelestis to be released August 15, 2010
This evocative new recording highlights the intense devotional imagery of 16th century Spanish composers including Cristóbal de Morales, Francisco Guerrero, and Tomás Luis de Victoria. In returning to the sacred polyphony that brought us together, we have arranged the program as an extended meditation, following the example of our forebears in selecting and adapting the best examples of polyphonic sacred music for private devotions.
The featured motets - premiere recordings of seldom-heard
pieces along with a few familiar favorites - were originally
composed for four or five voices. We present them here in
historically sensitive interpretations for solo voice and lute,
interspersed with solo lute settings of motets and mass
movements.
Why this change?
As we traverse the continually changing landscape with its unmarked routes for making our music available to friends and supporters, we find it necessary to adapt to current conditions and explore new avenues to send our bit of much-needed serenity out into this hectic world. As a minor innovation, we are taking the step of offering advance subscription sales of our newest CD, Harmonia Caelestis.
We are now in the final stages of completing the CD, our seventh recording. Apart from the generous help of a patron, we have undertaken the cost ourselves for every aspect of the project: researching, editing and arranging the repetoire, translating texts, the costly and arduous process of recording, mixing and mastering, right down to CD design, artwork, liner notes, and manufacturing. Typically, these costs are covered by record labels, government or institutional grants, or sponsoring organizations.
Although digital downloads make up an increasingly significant percentage of our music sales, we know that many of our listeners still prefer to own actual physical CDs. Advance subscription enables us to better judge how many CDs to manufacture and relaxes the speculative part of the equation, enabling us to concentrate on refining our music.
What's in it for me?
Subscribers will receive as many copies as they elect from the first run of Harmonia Caelestis at the reduced price of $12 per copy, and will find their names listed amongst the angels in our liner notes. Never before has so little money offered such great notoriety.
To subscribe to Harmonia Caelestis, follow the link for secure online payment through Paypal or, if you choose, contact us via our e-mail address lutesongs [at] mignarda [dot] com, and we can arrange for you to send a check or money order. We'll keep you appraised of our progress on the project, which is currently scheduled for an August 15th, 2010 release, and you'll be the first to hear the results.
sacred music for private devotions.