Crossing the Ocean

Album information

Harpist Bridget Kibbey makes her Pentatone debut with Crossing the Ocean. Via virtuosic soundscapes to driving grooves, Kibbey takes the concert harp to uncharted territory in precision, sound, and verve, by merging traditional music with the contemporary via six newly-commissioned works she has curated, by an international set of composers: Kati Agócs, Kinan Azmeh, David Bruce, Avner Dorman, Paquito d’Rivera, and DuYun. Solo harp, with special guest Soprano Dawn Upshaw, who makes her Pentatone debut. Kibbey poses “…What is the rock from which you’re cut, and how does it resonate within your current surroundings? Through this question, each composer has opened a world in which I swim, as we dialogue about their origins and effects on their writing today. This process has richly broadened my perspective on the harp and the world, as we synthesize the past with the present. My musical neighbors – composers and performers –  continue to bless me in countless ways, by broadening my perspective on the harp and the world. This record is my first ‘love letter’ to these communities and friends.”