River of Fire Cavatina Duo featuring Pacifica Quartet

• Stacy Garrop (b. 1969): Romani Songs:
• 1 Garrop: Romani Songs: I. Song from the Twisting Road 04:49
• 2 Garrop: Romani Songs: II. Song of the Restless Wind 04:00
• 3 Garrop: Romani Songs: III. Song for the Coming Spring 04:30
• 4 Garrop: Romani Songs: IV. Song of the Boundless Soul 06:09
• Sérgio Assad (b. 1952): Contos Ciganos:
• 5 Assad: Contos Ciganos 16:37
• Atanas Ourkouzounov (b. 1970): Râga "Ibriama":
• 6 Ourkouzounov: Râga "Ibriama" 08:42
• Matthew Dunne: Three Artisans:
• 7 Dunne: Three Artisans: I. The Painter 06:29
• 8 Dunne: Three Artisans: II. The Architect 05:29
• 9 Dunne: Three Artisans: III. The Flute Player 07:27
• Clarice Assad (b. 1978): Uma Mesma Outra Lendra:
• 10 Assad: Uma Mesma Outra Lendra: I. Migration 02:56
• 11 Assad: Uma Mesma Outra Lendra: II. Três Meninos 04:25
• 12 Assad: Uma Mesma Outra Lendra: III. Um Sonho 03:27
• 13 Assad: Uma Mesma Outra Lendra: IV. Sigamos, Sigamos 04:44
• Total Runtime 01:19:44

Info for River of Fire

The Cavatina Duo — renowned Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagić and Spanish flutist Eugenia Moliner — collaborates with the Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet on River of Fire, an album featuring world-premiere recordings of five original compositions that bridge classical traditions and Gypsy influences.

The works, composed for the duo by Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Matthew Dunne, Stacy Garrop, and Atanas Ourkouzounov, draw on the music and history of the Romani diaspora, weaving a narrative of migration, displacement, and resilience. The Cavatina Duo is committed to innovation and cultural exploration with a deep understanding of historical influences, from Balkan and Spanish Gypsy music to Indian classical traditions, emphasizing an East-to-West and West-to-East exchange, echoing Gypsy music’s historic migration.

Each movement of Garrop’s Romani Songs explores a different aspect of Romani music, including an original arrangement of Ederlezi, a traditional Romani song depicting the changing of seasons. Garrop was inspired by Romani dancers and her work, performed with cellist Brandon Vamos, incorporates clapping, stomping, and the guitar as percussion.

Violinist Simin Ganatra joins in Sérgio Assad’s Contos Ciganos, a work that encapsulates musical influences from global cultures that permeate the Romani sound. It follows the historical dissemination of the Romani people from the traditional dances of India’s Punjab region to Gelem Gelem, a Romani anthem inspired by the unique cultural blend found in northeastern Brazil.

Ourkouzounov’s Raga Ibraima blends Balkan and Romani musical influences with the traditional Indian raga. This piece pays homage to Ivo Papazov, a Bulgarian-Romani clarinetist who garnered international recognition for bringing his unique musical heritage to “wedding band” music in Stambolovo, Bulgaria.

Dunne composed Three Artisans in memory of flutist Tal Perkes. Its three movements — The Painter, The Architect, and The Flute Player — acknowledge Perkes’s life pursuits while weaving in European jazz, Flamenco, and Romani musical influences.

The Pacifica Quartet joins for Grammy Award-nominated Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad’s Four Scenes, which depict the Romani experience of being in constant motion, the fleeting comfort of temporary homes, and the anxiety of instability.

Cavatina Duo

Cavatina Duo
The Cavatina Duo — Eugenia Moliner, flute (from Spain) and Denis Azabagic, guitar (from Bosnia) — has become one of the most impressive combinations of its kind in the world. Critics are raving:

“Style, sympathy, and technical aplomb . . . it’s doubtful that the Cavatina’s sophisticated and artistic playing could be surpassed.” — Fanfare

Cavatina Duo has captivated audiences with their electrifying performances in such major venues and festivals as The Ravinia Festival, Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival (France), Symphony Center Chicago, the National Concert Hall of Taipei (Taiwan), National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, National Flute Convention Gala Concert, among many others.

Radio and television stations in Europe and North America (WFMT, NPR) have broadcast the duo’s performances. They have been the subjects of interviews in international magazines such as Chamber Music America, TodoFlauta (Spain), Flute Talk (USA), Classical Guitar (UK), Guitarra Magazine, Soundboard (USA), the British Flute Society Journal. They are the first guitar and flute duo featured on both the cover of Classical Guitar Magazine (UK) and the cover of Flute Talk (USA).

Composers from around the world have been inspired to write and arrange new works for the duo. They received the Encore Prize in 2003.

In February 2010, Cavatina Duo premiered Alan Thomas’s Concerto for Flute, Guitar, and Orchestra with Camerata Serbica in Belgrade. Since then, they have performed the concerto with orchestras in Europe, the United States, and Mexico; Chicago Sinfonietta, Traverse Symphony, Sarajevo Philharmonic, and the Monterrey Orchestra.

In addition to their two recordings on the Cedille label, the Cavatina Duo has recorded CDs for Spanish and North American labels Ópera Tres, Bridge, and Orobroy Records.

Eugenia Moliner has been acclaimed as a “brilliant young musician” by the British Flute Society Journal. She has performed with principal musicians of the Chicago Symphony and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestras, and has been featured on radio and television programs in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Her discography includes six CDs.

Prizewinner in twenty-four international competitions, Denis Azabagic has been described as a “virtuoso with flawless technique” by Soundboard Magazine. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the Chicago and Madrid Symphonies, among many others. His discography includes ten CDs and two DVDs.

Mrs. Moliner and Mr. Azabagic are faculty of the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

This album contains no booklet.