NEW ON NAXOS | AUGUST 2025
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
MASTERED FOR
8.559951 Release date: 8 Aug 2025
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Florence Beatrice PRICE (1887–1953) Choral Works Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight * Song of Hope ** Sara Swietlicki, Soprano * ** Lindsay Grace Johnson, Mezzo-soprano ** Jonas Samuelsson, Baritone ** Malmö Opera Chorus and Orchestra John Jeter Florence Price had an abiding love of literature, setting poets affiliated with the Harlem Renaissance as well as Byron and Robert Frost, among others. Her largest choral work is Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight , which sets a poem published in 1914 imagining Lincoln surveying the modern world with dismay. Its chorale-like passages and fugal finale, allied to her use of spirituals, gives the cantata a thoughtful, sometimes introspective grandeur. Song of Hope , which uses Price’s own text, is an emotionally intense supplication that also draws on spirituals. Charming smaller settings devoted to the natural world, and two sacred numbers, complete the album. Key features: • Conductor John Jeter is a Naxos specialist on the music of Florence Price. • ‘The restoration of Price’s unique voice is unquestionably an enrichment of the American symphonic canon’ ( Gramophone on Price’s Symphonies Nos.1 & 4 , 8.559827). ‘The ORF and Jeter provide lively, well balanced and sympathetically played accounts… a valuable addition to any library’ ( BBC Music Magazine on Symphony No. 3 , 8.559897). • Price’s other orchestral works are on 8.559920: ‘All the performances are consistently fine, and the recorded sound is first-rate. This is a major addition to Price’s burgeoning discography, and the pair of oak-themed tone poems in particular reveals a fascinating new facet of this composer’s work’ ( Gramophone ).
John Jeter © Bedford Camera and Video
Click to listen to Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight: No. 2. Until the Dawn-Stars Burn Away LISTEN
About John Jeter, Conductor John Jeter has been music director and conductor of the Fort Smith Symphony since 1997. He is the recipient of the Governor’s Award for “Individual Artist of the State of Arkansas”, the Helen M. Thompson Award presented by the League of American Orchestras, and the Mayor’s Achievement Award for services to the City of Fort Smith. Jeter has guest conducted numerous orchestras in the US and Europe. His music education programs for schools reach up to 10,000 students annually. He is also involved in a growing number of music and wellness projects, and has a long history as a media guest and host. Jeter received his formal education at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, and Butler University’s Jordan College of Fine Arts.
DIGITAL PRE-RELEASE SINGLE
Florence Beatrice PRICE Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight: No. 5. He Cannot Rest Until a Spirit-Dawn Shall Come * Only available for download and streaming
9.50344 * Release date: 11 Jul 2025
Companion titles – Florence Price, Composer
8.559920
8.559827
8.559897
8.559941
Malmö Opera Orchestra
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