Apollo Chamber Players releases their fifth studio album, With Malice Toward None, on Azica Records. The album represents a collection of globally-inspired compositions and collaborations, with each composer sharing their own personal interpretations of folk music...

With Malice Toward None includes a title track by Vietnam War veteran J. Kimo Williams with a performance by electric violinist Tracy Silverman, Pamela Z’s 'The Unraveling', 'What is the Word?' by Christopher Theofanidis and Mark Wingate, new arrangements of a trio of Armenian folk songs by Armenian composer Komitas, and Eve Beglarian’s 'We Will Sing One Song' for duduk, string quartet, percussion, and track.

Whether you jump right into this album with no idea what you're about to experience, or you read the sleeve notes to soak up the inspiration and focus on each track, one thing is almost guaranteed: you're in for an interesting listening experience.

It's certainly a release I'd recommend you sample before buying as at times it may be a little too avant garde for some. The 'What is the Word?' segment introduces a spoken element, which I suppose you could class as a style of poetry, which may distract some from the music.

I love how diverse this collection is. Another engaging release from Apollo Chamber Players.

Track List

0 1. J. Kimo Williams — With Malice Toward None (2020) [13:23]

Pamela Z — The Unraveling -- 20x2020 No. 16 (2019)
02. I. Joni [4:11]
03. II. Lord I’m One [3:45]
04. III. Travis [5:10]
05. IV. Microbus [4:45]
Pamela Z, voice and electronics

Christopher Theofanidis & Mark Wingate — What is the Word? -- 20x2020 No. 11 (2017)
06. “What is the Word” (poem) [1:31]
07. I. Extroverted [2:06]
08. II. Edgy [0:43]
09. III. Mercurial [2:04]
10. IV. Noble [2:20]
11. V. Very Fast [1:42]
12. VI. Euphoric [3:00]

Komitas/Aslamazyan (arr. Matthew J. Detrick/Apollo Chamber Players) — Themes of Armenian Folksongs (1915/2021)
13. Festive Song [1:23]
14. The Crane [2:42]
15. Echmiadzin Dance [2:14]
Joan DerHovsepian, guest viola

16. Eve Beglarian — We Will Sing One Song -- 20x2020 No. 19 (2020) [17:54]
Arsen Petrosyan, duduk
Pejman Hadadi, percussion (tombak, kuzeh, dayereh, bam-dayereh, senj, kanjira)
Joan DerHovsepian, guest viola
Eve Beglarian, digital track

8

Darren Rea