... a recording very much "of these times..."

...chosen for the Center for New Music's album of the week...

"The members of Ensemble For These Times are longstanding, expert champions of forgotten work by those nearly lost to history, as well as bringing up new voices who have meaningful new work to share. Their newest recording is further evidence of this mission." (Kurt Rohde, C4NM curator)

E4TT's third recording,"Once/Memory/Night: Paul Celan" (released June 30, 2020, as a digital EP) consists of four world premiere recordings of contemporary classical music in honor of the centennial of this major 20th century poet whose writing speaks to his experiences of loss, disempowerment, imprisonment, and survival under a brutal regime. The themes in his work—the rise of fascism, "strong-men" leaders, and nations marching to the drumbeat of nationalism—deeply resonate today. "Once/Memory/Night: Paul Celan" features three new commissions that E4TT premiered in 2018, along with a fourth relevant work: “Die eichne Tür” (The Oaken Door),by E4TT composer and co-founder David Garner to poems by Paul Celan, including "Espenbaum” (Aspen tree), the poet's heartrending reflection on his survival and his mother’s death; "Nachtlang" (Nightlong) by Jared Redmond (b. 1986), setting Celan’s “Notturno” (Night) and “Einmal” (“Once”); "A Song on the End of the World" by Stephen Eddins (b. 1954), setting a poem by Celan’s Nobel Prize-winning contemporary, Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004) and including a reading of the poem by the translator and poet's son Anthony Milosz; “4 ½” for solo piano, by world-renowned composer Libby Larsen (b. 1950). A suite for solo piano, “4 ½” consists of five interrelated movements, the final one of which, subtitled “In Memoriam,” is “an elegy for departed, beloved ones.”

“4 ½” for solo piano, by world-renowned composer Libby Larsen (b. 1950). A suite for solo piano, “4 ½” consists of five interrelated movements, the final one of which, subtitled “In Memoriam,” is “an elegy for departed, beloved ones.”

“Die eichne Tür” (The Oaken Door),by E4TT composer and co-founder David Garner to poems by Paul Celan, including "Espenbaum” (Aspen tree), the poet's heartrending reflection on his survival and his mother’s death

"Nachtlang" (Nightlong) by Jared Redmond (b. 1986), setting Celan’s “Notturno” (Night) and “Einmal” (“Once”)

"A Song on the End of the World" by Stephen Eddins (b. 1954), setting a poem by Celan’s Nobel Prize-winning contemporary, Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004) and including a reading of the poem by the translator and poet's son Anthony Milosz.

Performed by Ensemble for These Times: Nanette McGuinness, soprano; Ilana Blumberg, violin; Laura Reynolds, English horn; Anne Lerner, cello; Xin Zhao, piano

“Once/Memory/Night: Paul Celan” honors the centennial of the birth of one of the most important post-WWII poets, who greatly influenced 20th Century European literature. Born to a German-speaking Romanian Jewish family, Celan (1920-1970) was profoundly affected by the rise of Nazism. His parents perished in a concentration camp and he barely survived a forced labor camp, only to commit suicide in 1970. His poems—written in German, his mother tongue—are as relevant today as they were when he first wrote them.