Caroline Shaw: Narrow Sea

On *Narrow Sea*, Pulitzer Prize-winning violinist and composer Caroline Shaw weaves magic as she embraces folk songs and hymns from the 19th-century collection *The Sacred Harp*. Water flows through each of the work’s five sections, animated by a stunning array of sounds created by its performers: percussion quartet So Percussion, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and pianist Gilbert Kalish. Here, the harder sounds of the percussion—including flowerpots and piano played like a dulcimer—blend with Upshaw’s gloriously comforting, mellifluous voice. The piece speaks of home and a safe resting place, and the performance couldn’t be more beautifully done. The eight-minute *Taxidermy*, on which there are yet more flowerpots, makes an ideal companion.