Apollo Chamber Players to Release New Album TRACE OF TIME On Azica Records

On Friday, August 23, 2024, Apollo Chamber Players releases their seventh album, Trace of Time, as a digital release on Azica Records. In this project featuring works by Héctor Del Curto, Julia Smith, Jessie Montgomery, Adolphus Hailstork, Astor Piazzolla and Agustín Bardi, Apollo brings together a diverse patchwork of cultural stories seen partly through the lens of how they linger in our memories as time passes. Of the seven pieces featured on the album, three were commissioned by Apollo Chamber Players with the request that each composer craft a piece reflecting their heritage - yielding an album capturing influences ranging from Argentine Tango music to West African drumming patterns and African-American spirituals. Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players, the core string quartet ensemble consisting of Matthew J. Detrick and Anabel Ramirez Detrick, violins; Aria Cheregosha, viola; and Matthew Dudzik, cello - are joined on select tracks by renowned bandoneon performer Hector Del Curto and guest violists Melissa Reardon and Ashleigh Gordon.

In Trace of Time, Apollo continues its mission of storytelling through music, celebrating diverse cultural experiences and bringing communities together. Their previous album, Moonstrike (Azica Records, 2022) was praised by Take Effect for "inestimable, multi-cultured, rhythmic chamber sounds that we could never tire of." For this new album, the thematic and cultural ideas in the music are accented by vibrant artwork created digitally on an iPad by Houston-based artist Lynn Lane, including portraits of each featured artist and composer along with cover art depicting an Argentinian street lamp, known as a "farole." This captivating image evokes the passage of time in one of the album's key settings while hinting at other historical references - including the use of lamps as guideposts signaling freedom on the Underground Railroad.

On the new recording, Apollo Founder, Director and violinist Matthew J. Detrick said: "A journey of musical discovery and cultural connections, Trace of Time builds upon what Apollo does best - fostering the creativity of composers and creatives who reflect the dynamic and beautiful world in which we live. We hope our expanding discography will continue to create cultural harmony for generations to come."

The album's title track, Trace of Time, commissioned by Apollo from GRAMMY Award-winning Argentine bandoneonist Héctor Del Curto, combines key musical styles from Argentina's Rio de la Plata - the Tango, the Milonga and the Waltz - while reflecting influences from his mentors and longtime collaborators Osvaldo Pugliese, Astor Piazzolla and Pablo Ziegler. (As a teenager, Del Curto was a member of Piazzolla's band.) Composed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many shared the feeling that time had "stopped," the work emerged as a musical memento of that surreal period. As Del Curto wrote in his composer's note: "This piece will, perhaps, serve me as a trace to find myself in the future when recollecting this challenging time for human history."

A second Apollo-commissioned piece by Del Curto, Bien Curiosa ("Very Inquisitive") is also featured on this album. Composed in the Milonga rhythm - a lively, upbeat style that has remained nearly unchanged since the origins of Tango music - the piece charts its own course through dissonance and chromaticism, bringing an adventurous new twist to the traditional rhythm. On the inspiration for the piece, Del Curto writes, "This piece is dedicated to my son, Santiago Del Curto, whose innocence and curiosity led him to become an exceptional musician."

Composer Adolphus Hailstork was also commissioned by Apollo to compose a work for the ensemble's expanding new music catalog and album projects, yielding his work Deep River: Rhapsody for String Quartet. Like Astor Piazzolla, Hailstork was a student of famed Parisian pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, who encouraged both composers to embrace the music of their heritage. Deep River: Rhapsody for String Quartet is a culmination of Hailstork's love of spirituals and the gift of musical craftsmanship instilled by his teacher.

Adapting a favorite spiritual, Deep River, Hailstork draws on an image of hope for enslaved people, who envisioned the crossing of a river (the Ohio, in particular) as a journey to freedom - though too often, a journey they could only imagine. "This idea carries with it a sense of energy, of freedom, even joy and the humor they imagine upon deliverance," Hailstork writes in his composer's note. "A sudden interruption by the whip brings them back down to the cruelty and sadness of the situation. Eventually, sadly, they recover, and quietly embrace again the distant vision they hope to realize someday."

Julia Smith's Quartet for Strings, composed in 1964, was selected for this album for its musical themes reflecting the character and landscapes of Texas, home state to both Smith and Apollo Chamber Players. Composed in three movements - Allegro Ritmico, Lento Espressivo and Allegro Giocoso - this eclectic work captures the majesty of the Lone Star State. Its musical architecture moves from frenetic energy - with a pizzicato accompaniment evoking the sound of banjos - to melancholic dissonance to a buoyant mixed-meter dance. Apollo's performance represents the first contemporary recording of this lost work.

In Jessie Montgomery's Voodoo Dolls, the GRAMMY Award-winning composer captures West African drumming patterns and lyrical chant motifs in a work commissioned and choreographed by the Jump! Dance Company of Rhode Island. A suite of dances choreographed for the piece depicts traditional dolls from around the world, from the voodoo dolls of the title to Russian Matryoshka dolls, ragdolls, marionettes and Barbie dolls.

Associated with the genres of "Nuevo Tango" and "Avant-Garde Tango," Argentina-born Astor Piazzolla was a protégé of both Alberto Ginastera and Nadia Boulanger. His work Tango Ballet was first recorded as a film score in 1956 (for a dance film since lost) before being re-recorded and popularized in 1964. In addition to its original arrangements for string quartet and string orchestra, the piece has been arranged throughout its history for solo piano and other instrumentation. The work unfolds across six continuous movements in a slow-fast-slow progression reminiscent of Gershwin's An American in Paris. As with Smith's Quartet for Strings, Apollo's recording represents the first contemporary rendition of this version of Tango Ballet.

Celebrated Tango composer Agustín Bardi's piece Gallo Ciego was an iconic piece in the repertoire of Osvaldo Pugliese's orchestra through much of the 20th century. Composed in 1927, the piece was arranged for a 1959 recording by Víctor Lavallén - and reorchestrated by Jisoo Ok in 2020, yielding the new version heard on this album.

About Apollo Chamber Players
Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players "performs with rhythmic flair and virtuosity" (The Strad) and "recasts music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation" (Strings Magazine) through globally inspired programming and multicultural new music commissions. A recipient of Chamber Music America's prestigious Residency Partnership award, the ensemble has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and in Havana (Cuba), and is featured frequently on American Public Media's nationally-syndicated program Performance Today.

In March 2024, Apollo's censorship-inspired programming rose to national prominence as the featured story on NPR's Weekend Edition, with cultural reporter Neda Ulaby lauding Apollo as a "young, dynamic ensemble creating programs in response to current events."

Released on the GRAMMY-winning label Azica Records, Apollo's With Malice Toward None album reached No. 1 on Amazon's Hot New Release chart, and the ensemble's catalog of records has been featured on hundreds of radio and media stations worldwide. The organization's debut feature film, MoonShot: The Remarkable Journey of Apollo Chamber Players, won international accolades, including Best Documentary and Best Documentary Soundtrack at the Seattle, Vancouver, Houston and Screen ATX International film festivals. It is now available on Amazon Prime and Tubi.

A passionate advocate of contemporary music, underrepresented composers, and art reflecting the times in which we live, Apollo counts an expanding catalog of more than 50 commissioned works. As part of this endeavor, the ensemble concluded a bold initiative to commission 20 new multicultural works by the end of the last decade. 20x2020 features a diverse roster of the world's leading composers and instrumentalists including Jennifer Higdon, John Corigliano, Libby Larsen, Pamela Z, Leo Brouwer, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, Vanessa Võ and Tracy Silverman.

Apollo's community partners include schools and universities, at-risk youth centers, refugee and veterans service organizations, and public libraries. The ensemble's vanguard Library Voyage project, an initiative to perform in all Harris County/Houston Public Libraries, is the first of its kind in the nation. Apollo was founded in 2008 by violinist and music entrepreneur Matthew J. Detrick and violinist Timothy Peters.

About Hector Del Curto
Praised by The New York Times as a "splendid player," GRAMMY-winning musician, composer, recording artist and educator Héctor Del Curto (b. 1971) is one of the world's most sought-after bandoneonists. He is a fourth generation bandoneonist who won the title "Best Bandoneon Player Under 25" in Argentina at age 17, and he was subsequently invited to join the orchestras of the legendary Osvaldo Pugliese and Astor Piazzolla.

About Melissa Reardon
GRAMMY-nominated violist Melissa Reardon is an internationally renowned performer whose solo and chamber playing spans all musical genres. Melissa is a member of the Borromeo String Quartet, Artistic Director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival in Portland, ME, Artist-in-Residence at Bard College, and a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO).

About Ashleigh Gordon
Described as a "charismatic and captivating performer," Ashleigh Gordon has recorded with Germany's Ensemble Modern, performed with GRAMMY-award winning BMOP, appeared at the prestigious BBC Proms Festival with the Chineke! Orchestra and been featured at Carnegie Hall with the Gateways Music Festival. She is co-founder, Artistic Director and violist of Castle of our Skins, a Boston-based concert and educational series devoted to celebrating Black artistry through music.

Trace of Time Track List
1. Hector Del Curto - Trace of Time (2021) [9:36]
Julia Smith - Quartet for Strings (1964)
2. Allegro Ritmico [4:11]
3. Lento Expressivo [5:44]
4. Allegro Giocoso [3:02]
5. Jessie Montgomery - Voodoo Dolls (2008) [5:18]
6. Adolphus Hailstork - Deep River: Rhapsody for String Quartet (2021) [10:47]
7. Astor Piazzolla - Tango Ballet (1956) [11:58]
8. Hector Del Curto - Bien Curiosa (2022) [3:43]
9. Agustín Bardi (Arr. Víctor Lavallén/Jisoo Ok) - Gallo Ciego (2020) [3:45]

Total Time: 58:04

APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS
Matthew J. Detrick, violin I
Anabel Ramirez Detrick, violin II
Aria Cheregosha, viola
Matthew Dudzik, cello

With Guests:
Hector Del Curto, bandoneon & composer
Melissa Reardon, viola
Ashleigh Gordon, viola

Producer, Recording and Mastering Engineer: Alan Bise
Apollo Founder, Artistic & Executive Director: Matthew J. Detrick
Cover Image and Artwork: Lynn Lane
Graphic Design: Matthew J. Detrick
Tracks 1,6-9 recorded at: Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts (Houston, TX) Dec. 2022
Tracks 2-5 Recorded at: The Clarion at Brazosport College (Lake Jackson, TX) Feb. 2024
ACD-71352

*Photo credits: Album art by Lynn Lane, Apollo Chamber Players by Lynn Lane.

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