Terra Infirma
Azica, 2026
9/10
The Grammy Nominated harpist Yolanda Kondonassis presents world premiere recordings by the composer Reena Esmail, where the violinist Vijay Gupta, the Interlochen Center for the Arts Orchestra and Chorus, conductor Andrew Grams and choral director Carter Smith are all in attendance.
The title track opens with 7 segments, where the intimate strings surround “Bone-Colored Branches”, and “Helium Ember” incorporates bells and Kondonassis’ dreamy harp that adds much richness.
Deeper into this set “Swallowed” gets tense via the booming drums and firm harp dynamics, as a cinematic quality unfolds, while “Sandhiprakash” recruits Gupta’s stirring violin prowess alongside the mysterious and ambient duet.
“Earth Speaks: Curiosity” exits with 3 chapters, as the SATB Chorus and chilling harp make for harmonic and textured ideas that radiate warmth and timelessness.
Each selection touches on the care towards our relationship to the environment, where the harp playing is superb and adaptable, and the contributions from the guests helps make for a colorful, intricate, and occasionally fierce body of work that is of the utmost importance.
Travels well with: Yolanda Kondonassis- Five Minutes For Earth; Laila Biali- Wintersongs