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| Fotina Naumenko and the performers on Bespoke Songs |
Fotina Naumenko is an American soprano of Russian heritage. Her album Bespoke Songs on New Focus Recordings was nominated for a 2025 Grammy for Greatest Classical Solo Vocal Album. The disc options 4 works for soprano and various ensembles that Fotina commissioned from composers Jonathan Newman, Benedict Sheehan, Carrie Magin and Jennifer Jolley setting texts by feminine authors. The disc options Jonathan Newman’s track cycle, Bespoke Songs for soprano, clarinet, saxophone, violin, cello, guitar, percussion and piano, Jennifer Jolley’s track cycle ‘Hope’ is a Factor with Feathers for soprano, flute and guitar, Carrie Magin’s The right way to See an Angel for soprano, bassoon and piano, and Benedict Sheehan’s track cycle, Let Night Come for soprano, cello and harp.
Fotina studied on the Eastman College of Music, and the Cincinnati Faculty-Conservatory, and is a Fulbright scholar, having accomplished a post-graduate diploma specializing in Russian vocal music on the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. The end result of this work was the creation of www.RussianAriaResource.com, a lyric diction useful resource for Russian operatic arias.
She sings and information with ensembles resembling Skylark, Clarion, the Saint Tikhon Choir, and PaTRAM, and is Affiliate Professor of Voice at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA.
Fotina has at all times cherished chamber music, so when the pandemic got here and contracts had been cancelled, she had time to assume, to plant some seeds that will develop into one thing that she would need to do. The end result was her commissioning music, although the method of commissioning the items, after which creating, performing and recording them took time. The intention was to make new music, however through the use of various instrumental ensembles she may contain as many pals as attainable, and the disc includes round a dozen instrumentalists.
She loves new music that features parts that she will relate to, and he or she selected 4 composers who’re colleagues and pals, and whose music she was conversant in. Jonathan Newman is a colleague of Fotina’s at Shenandoah Conservatory, each Carrie Magin and Jennifer Jolley went to graduate college with Fotina, while composer/conductor Benedict Sheehan is a long-time good friend. Commissioning music is at all times a chance, and he or she wanted to belief the composers; her choice was based mostly on their present works that she thought she would really like.
The texts set are various, Jonathan Newman units seven poets throughout totally different eras and languages, Jennifer Jolley units Emily Dickinson, Carrie Magin units Dorothy Walters (1928-2023) and Benedict Sheehan units Jane Kenyon (1947-1995). She had conversations concerning the texts with every composer, as each she and the composer wanted to be impressed by the chosen textual content. Jennifer Jolley, Carrie Magin and Benedict Sheehan instructed poets that Fotina preferred, while Jonathan Newman selected a theme. Then they chose poetry of various eras and languages, linked by a brand new set of texts by Kristina Faust. It was a problem for Fotina to sing poetry in several languages and from totally different eras, however she feels that Faust’s poems bridge any gaps.
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| Fotina Naumenko |
The totally different languages, English, French, Hebrew, Korean, Swedish and
Russian had been an additional step to take, requiring her to be correct and
honour the langued. However she loves digging into totally different languages, and
she finds it enjoyable. Nevertheless, it did current a problem, being the primary
time she had sung in Hebrew and Korean.
With every composer, she additionally had conversations concerning the ensembles that they envisioned. Jonathan Newman started with the Pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano) after which made the adjustments that he wished. With the opposite three, the conversations encompassed each the kind of ensembles that Fotina envisioned and the those who she wished to work with. In Jennifer Jolley’s cycle, she highlights the best way the flute works virtually as a soloist with the voice.
Probably the most intense dialog was with Carrie Magin as Fotina was eager for the ensemble to be piano and bassoon, and while the poem by Dorothy Waters is The right way to See an Angel, Magin has created an ideal amber-coloured, religious, earthy sound.
Having carried out all of the items individually, Fotina admits that the concept of taking all 4 on tour can be troublesome as it will veer in direction of a travelling circus with numerous transferring elements. However she hopes to carry out totally different songs in varied locations, while a few of her college students are additionally within the songs, so she is assured that they are going to have a life past their recordings.
Her working life combines life as a full-time tenured professor at Shenandoah with freelance work with a wide range of ensembles. However she was bitten by the brand new music bug early and in the case of additional commissions, she says ‘keep tuned’, there can be extra.
Bespoke Songs – Fotina Naumenko – New Focus Recordings – fcr410
- Jonathan Newman – Bespoke Songs: Fotina Naumenko, soprano; Garrick Zoeter, clarinet; Timothy Roberts, alto & soprano saxophone; Akemi Takayama, violin; Julian Schwarz, cello; Mark Edwards, guitar; Karlyn Viña, percussion; Marika Bournaki, piano; Nadège Foofat, conductor
- Jennifer Jolley – ‘Hope’ is the Factor with Feathers: Fotina Naumenko, soprano; Julietta Curenton, flute; Colin Davin, guitar
- Carrie Magin – The right way to See An Angel: Fotina Naumenko, soprano; Ryan Romine, bassoon; Marika Bournaki, piano
- Benedict Sheehan – Let Night Come: Fotina Naumenko, soprano; Julian Schwarz, cello; Nadia Pessoa, harp
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