Discover
A Musical Portrait of America
In conjunction with the United States’ coming 250th anniversary celebration, Cedille Records is proud to support the Pacifica Quartet as it completes its bold and timely trilogy of recordings reflecting on our nation. Pacifica Quartet cellist, Brandon Vamos, reflects:
“The interesting thing about making a recording, and why it’s so relevant, is it shows a piece of time.”
A recording is an artist or ensemble’s permanent document for future generations. American Portraits, scheduled for release in October 2026, will be the final album in a three-part series (and eventual boxed set) that captures the diversity, complexity, and richness of American musical voices.
This culminating volume will feature newly commissioned works for narrator and string quartet by two of America’s most celebrated composers: Jennifer Higdon’s tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Steps for Justice) and Gabriela Lena Frank’s portrait of environmental activist Rachel Carson (The Edge of Everything).
Each work is rooted in its respective subjects’ words, brought to life by award-winning NPR legal affairs correspondent — and longtime friend of Justice Ginsburg — Nina Totenberg. The Pacifica and narrator Totenberg recently premiered the works at Washington Performing Arts’ fourth annual Ruth Bader Ginsburg Memorial Recital.
American Portraits completes the Pacifica’s American Collections trilogy, which began with their Grammy-nominated American Stories. Featuring clarinetist Anthony McGill, the album illuminates experiences that have shaped America through works by Richard Danielpour, James Lee III, Ben Shirley (all world-premiere recordings), and Valerie Coleman. Stephanie Zelnick of the International Clarinet Association declared, “American Stories… is storytelling at its finest, both in regard to composition and performance. These are the stories of tragedy and triumph; of pain and beauty blended into an exquisite masterpiece.”
The second album, American Voices, explored the sounds of America with works by Antonín Dvořák, Florence Price, and Louis Gruenberg, string quartets that incorporate elements of American folk music and spirituals, plus a new piece by James Lee III that also featured Chicago’s Uniting Voices conducted by Josephine Lee.
With the addition of American Portraits, this trilogy will endure as a document of our nation at a pivotal moment — one that brings together composers, performers, and storytellers who grapple with the ideals, people, and complexities that shape American life. Made possible through the support of the National Endowment for the Arts and Cedille’s community of donors, this project reflects a shared commitment to preserving these distinctive voices with clarity and care, ensuring that future listeners can enjoy a richly layered portrait of America through music.
Recommended
From Chicago-based composter Stacy Garrop comes INVICTUS, Latin for “unconquered.” The work unfolds across four movements and an interlude, moving between lyrical introspection, fierce determination, and triumphant resolve, with Grammy-nominated pianist Marta Aznavoorian and the Chicago Philharmonic under the direction of Artistic Director Scott Speck. Available 5/8.
Haymarket Opera Company presents early-18th-century master Leonardo Vinci’s rare operatic gem, Artaserse (1730). A prominent figure of the Neapolitan School of opera, whose work influenced composers such as Johann Adolph Hasse and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Vinci’s three-act opera seria centers on the Persian prince, Artaserse, who must bring his father’s murderer to justice amidst betrayal, deceit, and mistaken identity.
To celebrate Stacy Garrop‘s piano concerto, INVICTUS (5/8 release), based on a poem about perseverance and resilience in adversity, a playlist of Cedille tracks that represent struggle against prohibitive odds — explicitly in words or as program music, or inherently in their musical nature.
Enjoy Cedille’s Weekly Featured Release.