A new album of World Premieres from GRAMMYr Award-winning Ukrainian-American pianist Nadia Shpachenko! As she watched in horror her home city of Kharkiv (and the rest of Ukraine) being destroyed and civilians being murdered every day, Shpachenko tried to come up with ways to express her feelings of utter despair and anger, as well as hope and resilience, through her music making. She decided to put together a new album to support Ukraine humanitarian aid. Reference Recordings is proud to release this album, with proceeds benefitting Ukrainian people affected by the war. She has collaborated with Ukrainian artists to create Invasion music videos and album art, describing their war experience. The key piece on the album, titled Invasion (for piano, alto saxophone, horn, trombone, timpani, snare drum, and mandolin) is Shpachenko's longtime collaborator Lewis Spratlan's response to this tragic war. The rest of the album features World Premiere recordings of solo piano music also by Spratlan. These pieces reflect on the human experience, often finding solace and inspiration in nature and music of the past. Wonderer, a major piece that closes the album, connects in it's character to the current experience of many Ukrainian people, especially those displaced by the war. The hero, searching through the unknown, overcoming pain, and reminiscing about things past, triumphs at the end.

Tracklist:

Invasion for piano, saxophone, horn, trombone, percussion, ; mandolin
Piano Suite No. 1 for solo piano~Capriccio
Piano Suite No. 1 for solo piano~Dirge
Piano Suite No. 1 for solo piano~Pastorale
Six Rags for solo piano~Goose Eye Mountain Rag
Six Rags for solo piano~Speck Pond Rag
Six Rags for solo piano~Mahoosuc Notch Rag
Six Rags for solo piano~Mount Greylock Rag
Six Rags for solo piano~Pelham Lake Rag
Six Rags for solo piano~Chesterfield Gorge Rag
Two Sonatas for solo piano~Presto
Two Sonatas for solo piano~Gentle
Wonderer for solo piano

UPC: 030911174927
Label: Reference Recordings
Release Date: 9.23.22
Format: CD

Spratlan / Shpachenko - Invasion (CD)