

TRACK LIST
Ms. Manners on Music
I. Prologue
II. Manners at a Concert
III. Manners at the Ballet
IV. Manners for Contemporary Music
V. Manners at a Church Recital
VI. Manners at the Opera
VII. Envoi
Casa Guidi
I. Casa Guidi
II. The Italian Cook and the English Maid
III. Robert Browning
IV. The Death of Mr. Barrett
V. Domesticity
From the Diary of Virginia Woolf
I. The Diary (April, 1919)
II. Anxiety (October, 1920)
III. Fancy (February, 1927)
IV. Hardy's Funeral (January, 1928)
V. Rome (May, 1935)
VI. War (June, 1940)
VII. Parents (December, 1940)
VIII. Last Entry (March, 1941)
I fell in love with classical art songs in college. I spent hundreds of happy hours in the listening room of the library, often staying until closing, listening for new voices that inspired me, composers who intrigued me, and songs I was desperate to sing. Each album contained endless new avenues to explore. I knew, way back then, that song would be at the center of my artistic life. Songs of Dominick Argento is my first recording in what I hope will be an extensive collection of recorded song repertoire with a strong focus on modern, American song. Two of the cycles on this album have not been recorded in a studio setting and I am so excited to bring them to life with my partner, Peter Walsh. Life is short but Art is long, and as my father used to say -- "the internet is forever."
- Abi Levis