For those unaware, Concord Theatricals Recordings has released Georgia Stitt’s Bell Tower, an album featuring twenty-six theatrical art songs performed by Broadway stars and recording artists including: Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!, Big Fish, Finian’s Rainbow), Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid, The Phantom of the Opera), Tituss Burgess (Oh Mary!, Jersey Boys, Moulin Rouge!), Nikki Renée Daniels (Once Upon a Mattress, Company, Hamilton), and Andrea Jones-Sojola (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, The Music Man).

Also included are: Marc Kudisch (Girl from the North Country, Floyd Collins, Thoroughly Modern Millie), Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles (The King and I, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George), Tony winner Kelli O’Hara (The King and I, The Light in the Piazza, The Bridges of Madison County), two-time GRAMMY® award winner Hila Plitmann, and the late Rebecca Luker (Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, The Secret Garden).

The album takes its name from the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, set to music by Georgia Stitt for voice, piano, violin, and vibraphone, here performed by soprano Hila Plitmann and nestled into the first of three collections Stitt has entitled Small Talk: A Very Short Song Cycle. Stitt collected poetry for three song cycles from sources spanning the New York City subway (Alicia Partnoy’s poem “Communication,” featured in an MTA ad campaign), to poetry collections (where she found works by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, Dorothy Parker, Connie Bensley, and Wendy Cope), to archival gems by Sara Teasdale, Margaret Funkhouser, Lorine Niedecker, and Georgia Douglas Johnson.

1.WHAT LIPS MY LIPS HAVE KISSED (Poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay) — Rebecca Luker
2. HUTCHINSON SONNET (Poem by Henry William Hutchingson) — Rebecca Luker
3. WHEN I AM DEAD (Poem by Christina Rossetti) — Rebecca Luker
4. THE TRUMPET (Poem by Edward Thomas) — Tituss Burgess

SMALL TALK: A VERY SHORT SONG CYCLE (PART ONE)

5. COMMUNICATION (Poem by Alicia Portnoy) — Kate Baldwin
6. ALAN’S DEAD (Poem by Faye Greenberg) — Kate Baldwin
7. THAT LOOK (Poem by Faye Greenberg) — Kate Baldwin
8. WHY I AVOID EYE-CONTACT (Poem by Christin O’Keefe-Aptowicz) — Kate Baldwin 9. EXTERMINATOR (Poem by Mindi Dickstein) — Kate Baldwin
PERMISSIVE SOCIETY (Poem by Connie Bensley) — Kate Baldwin
10. CENTRAL PARK AT DUSK (Poem by Sara Teasdale) — Kate Baldwin
11. LET THIS DARKNESS BE A BELL TOWER (Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke) — Hila Plitmann
12. LONDON (Poem by William Blake) — Marc Kudisch
13. COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE (Poem by William Wordsworth) — Marc Kudisch

SMALL TALK: A VERY SHORT SONG CYCLE (PART TWO)

14. BLOODY MEN (Poem by Wendy Cope) — Ruthie Ann Miles
15. THE TRUE NATURE OF EVIL (Poem byAnika Chapin) — Ruthie Ann Miles
16. FROM HALCYON HALL (Poem by Margaret Funkhouser) — Ruthie Ann Miles
17. A VERY SHORT SONG (Poem by Dorothy Parker) — Ruthie Ann Miles
18. THE HEART OF A WOMAN (Poem byGeorgia Douglas Johnson) — Ruthie Ann Miles
19. BRIEF PASSAGE (Poem bySarah Ruhl) — Kelli O’Hara
20. RE-CREATION (Poem by Jacqueline Suskin) — Andrea Jones-Sojola

,b>SMALL TALK: A VERY SHORT SONG CYCLE (PART THREE)

21. WHAT HORROR TO AWAKE AT NIGHT (Poem by LorineNiedecker) — Sierra Boggess
22. TECTONIC PLATES (Poem by Angelica Chéri) — Sierra Boggess
23. MASKED BEHAVIOR (Poem byTa’Rea Campbell) — Sierra Boggess
24. SMALL TALK (Poem by Mindi Dickstein) — Sierra Boggess
25. HOLD FAST YOUR DREAMS (Poem by Louise Driscoll) — Nikki Renée Daniels

Up first is the stirringly dulcet WHAT LIPS MY LIPS HAVE KISSED (Poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay) which is backed by the gently sterner fare of HUTCHINSON SONNET (Poem by Henry William Hutchingson), and then we get the emotive WHEN I AM DEAD (Poem by Christina Rossetti), the opening quartet culminating on the theatrically-hued THE TRUMPET (Poem by Edward Thomas, and performed by Tituss Burgess).

The comes SMALL TALK: A VERY SHORT SONG CYCLE (PART ONE), which begins on the flirtatiously perky COMMUNICATION (Poem by Alicia Partnoy), the impassioned ALAN’S DEAD (Poem by Faye Greenberg), the rhythmic THAT LOOK (Poem by Faye Greenberg), the upbeat and joyful WHY I AVOID EYE-CONTACT (Poem by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz), before the rigid affair of EXTERMINATOR (Poem by Mindi Dickstein), the flourishing PERMISSIVE SOCIETY (Poem by Connie Bensley), the uplifting CENTRAL PARK AT DUSK (Poem by Sara Teasdale)and the emboldened LET THIS DARKNESS BE A BELL TOWER (Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke) are brought forth, the set rounding out on the formidable LONDON (Poem by William Blake) and the more affectional COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE (Poem by William Wordsworth, and both performed by Marc Kudisch).

Along next is SMALL TALK: A VERY SHORT SONG CYCLE (PART TWO), which itself opens on the bouncy affair BLOODY MEN (Poem by Wendy Cope), the all-embracing THE TRUE NATURE OF EVIL (Poem by Anika Chapin) and the touching FROM HALCYON HALL, and then we get the dainty fare of A VERY SHORT SONG (Poem by Dorothy Parker), the strident THE HEART OF A WOMAN (Poem by Georgia Douglas Johnson), rounding out on the poignant BRIEF PASSAGE (Poem by Sarah Ruhl, performed by Kelli O’Hara and an arcing RE-CREATION (Poem by Jacqueline Suskin, performed by Andrea Jones-Sojola).

The new set comes to a conclusion on SMALL TALK: A VERY SHORT SONG CYCLE (PART THREE), which itself first brings us the prosperous WHAT HORROR TO AWAKE AT NIGHT (Poem by LorineNiedecker) and the richly robust TECTONIC PLATES (Poem by Angelica Chéri), and then we get the gently emotive MASKED BEHAVIOR (Poem byTa’Rea Campbell), everything closing on a pleasing narrative within SMALL TALK (Poem by Mindi Dickstein) and the blooming HOLD FAST YOUR DREAMS (Poem by Louise Driscoll, performed by Nikki Renée Daniels).

The album also contains three songs performed and recorded by Stitt and Rebecca Luker before the celebrated soprano’s passing in 2020, and a new work entitled “The Trumpet” written to merge the “trumpeting voice” of Tituss Burgess and the “actual trumpeting” of Liesl Whitaker, a Broadway musician who spent two decades playing lead trumpet for the US Army Band.

“I’ve been fortunate to know Georgia’s music for over 30 years, and it’s always a delight to hear it evolve and explore new territory,” said Sean Patrick Flahaven, Chief Theatricals Executive of Concord. “We’re proud to continue to release her albums and publish her work.”

Official Purchase Link

www.georgiastitt.com

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