The American pianist, producer, and arts activist Lara Downes, along with singers Martha Redbone and Brian Stokes Mitchell, and violinist Curtis Stewart present and perform works from Downes’ latest program called This Land, A Reflection on America. The collection of works spans centuries of American music and offers a portrait of and a reflection on America, where change is constant.
Downes performs a piece by Iranian-American composer Kian Ravaei who has written a set of variations on Guthrie’s familiar protest song “This Land Is Your Land”, which reflect a country divided against itself. Curtis Stewart brings an arrangement of the spiritual “Deep River”, and singer and multi-instrumentalist Martha Redbone contributes an original song, “I Got Gold”. \Lara Downes plays a gospel-inflected work from American composer Carlos Simon. Plus, American actor and singer Brian Stokes Mitchell performs composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown’s song, “Hope”. The idea behind this collection of works is that everyone recognizes themselves in this blend of things that encompass American Music.
Like Moons and Like Suns by Carlos Simon
Copyright © 2021 by CSJr. Music (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.
Sole Agent: Bill Holab Music
Program #4968, With Lara Downes and Friends (First aired 1/20/2025)
ARTIST: Lara Downes
WORK: America (Arr. For Piano by Noah Luna) [1:00]
RECORDING: This Land
SOURCE: Pentatone
INFO: https://lnk.to/ThisLand
ARTIST: Lara Downes
WORK: Kian Ravaei: Variations on This Land is Your Land [7:27]
RECORDING: Live, at WNYC, Jan. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: The work appears on This Land https://lnk.to/ThisLand
ARTIST: Lara Downes, Martha Redbone
WORK: Redbone: I Got Gold [4:01]
RECORDING: Live, at WNYC, Jan. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: https://martharedbone.com
ARTIST: Lara Downes, Curtis Stewart
WORK: Deep River (arr. Stewart) [5:57]
RECORDING: Live, at WNYC, Jan. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: https://curtisjstewart.com
ARTIST: Lara Downes
WORK: Carlos Simon: Like Moons And Like Suns [3:18]
RECORDING: Live, at WNYC, Jan. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: https://www.carlossimonmusic.com
ARTIST: Lara Downes, Brian Stokes Mitchell
WORK: Jason Robert Brown: Hope [3:22]
RECORDING: Live, at WNYC, Jan. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: https://www.brianstokes.com | https://jasonrobertbrown.com
ARTIST: Lara Downes
WORK: Kyle Gann: Going to Bed (Homage to Philip Glass) [6:06]
RECORDING: The Bedtime Sessions
SOURCE: Flipside Music
INFO: laradownes.com | Also available at AppleMusic, YouTube, Spotify