Carlos Simon: Songs of Separation

Featuring

J'Nai Bridges
Gianandrea Noseda
National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.)
Carlos Simon

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Performer Biography

Mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges is a two-time Grammy Award-winning artist, recognized for her "plush-voiced mezzo-soprano" and "calmly commanding stage presence."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Carlos Simon, the composer, believes in music's power to give voice to the marginalized and shape aspirations for a better world, often addressing social justice and racial inequity in his works.

Recording & Production

This album, "Songs of Separation," was recorded live over three days in April 2023 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Composer Carlos Simon was drawn to the 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī's texts for "Songs of Separation" to grapple with difficult emotions, finding that "What hurts you, also blesses you."

Composition History

Carlos Simon's "Songs of Separation" was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in connection with his residency as Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence.

Composer Biography

Carlos Simon compares his role as a composer to that of his father, a preacher, stating that music is his 'pulpit' where he 'preaches.'

Performer Biography

J'Nai Bridges, the mezzo-soprano on this recording, has been a leading figure in classical music's shift toward conversations of inclusion and racial justice in the performing arts.