Passion and intellect meld in The Book of Spells, the Merian Ensemble’s hotly anticipated debut album. The album is comprised entirely of world premiere recordings, offering a gripping and intimate portrait of modern chamber music, performed with brilliance and precision by an ensemble of world-class soloists who are dedicated to the elevation of women’s voices in classical music...

Clarice Assad’s titular composition, 'The Book of Spells', opens the recording with three movements that the composer says is "inspired by rituals that deal with magic, which is done to achieve a particular goal, righteous or wicked".

The album weaves together elements of folklore, faith, and science, with Nicole Chamberlain’s 'Atalanta', Lynne Plowman’s 'Small World', Jennifer Higdon’s 'The Sound of Light', Mary Kouyoumdjian’s 'A Boy and a Makeshift Toy', Kimberly Osberg’s 'Just Another Climb', Soon Hee Newbold’s 'Alis Volat Propriis (She Flies With Her Own Wings)', and Clarice Assad’s 'Solais'.

In 'meridian', Leilehua Lanzilotti explores the themes of metamorphosis, inspired by the Merian Ensemble’s namesake, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), a German entomologist, naturalist, and scientific illustrator, whose work is featured on the album’s cover and book.

It's impressive how incredibly well each of the works here compliment each other. This is an insightful glimpse into the current state of modern chamber music. The Book of Spell is a delight from start to finish.

Track listing:

Clarice Assad
01. The Book of Spells: Chapter I: Love and Relationships; The Siren’s Seduction (4:11)
02.The Book of Spells: Chapter II: Wealth and Prosperity; Spell of Summon Greed (3:44)
03. The Book of Spells: Chapter III: Health and Well-Being; A Spell for Global Healing (3:22)

Jennifer Higdon
04. The Sound of Light (6:37)

Lynne Plowman
05. Small World (10:44)

Nicole Chamberlain
06. Atalanta (6:25)

Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti
07. Meridian (7:37)

Mary Kouyoumdjian, (arr. Elisabeth Remy Johnson)
08. A Boy and a Makeshift Toy (8:29)

Clarice Assad
09. Solais (5:24)

Soon Hee Newbold
10. Alis Volat Propriis (“She Flies With Her Own Wings”) (5:43)

Kimberly R. Osberg
11. Just Another Climb (4:18)

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Darren Rea