The Harlem Chamber Players - Adolphus Hailstork: Chamber Works (2024)

It’s admittedly rare to hear contemporary classical music that delivers a shot of energy and drive like a cup of coffee: strong enough to wake you up, but in a way that is still pleasing to the senses. ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK: CHAMBER WORKS boasts exactly this rare and invigorating combination — and the energetic performance by The Harlem Chamber Players adds an extra boost on top.

Hailstork’s music blends African, American, and European traditions; there are parts that positively sound like something Shostakovich or Prokofiev might have written, perhaps echoes of Hailstork’s studies with Nadia Boulanger in the 1960s. There are moments of contemplation, but if this album is anything, it’s invigorating and profound.

TRACKLIST

1. The Harlem Chamber Players, David Berry, Ashley Horne, Claire Chan, William Frampton, Wayne Smith and Kenneth Overton - Hailstork: Piano Quintet “Detroit”: I. Detroit Grit
2. The Harlem Chamber Players, David Berry, Ashley Horne, Claire Chan, William Frampton, Wayne Smith and Kenneth Overton - Hailstork: Piano Quintet “Detroit”: II. Detroit Nocturne
3. The Harlem Chamber Players, David Berry, Ashley Horne, Claire Chan, William Frampton, Wayne Smith and Kenneth Overton - Hailstork: Piano Quintet “Detroit”: III. Detroit Rise
4. The Harlem Chamber Players, David Berry, Ashley Horne, Claire Chan, William Frampton, Wayne Smith and Kenneth Overton - Hailstork: Piano Quintet “Detroit”: IV. Prayer - In Memoriam Brazeal Dennard
5. The Harlem Chamber Players, David Berry, Ashley Horne, Claire Chan, William Frampton, Wayne Smith and Kenneth Overton - Hailstork: Nobody Know