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BOSTON – Defying category and convention, famed Boston trumpeter Richard Kelley and Boston Cathedral choirmaster, organist, and composer Richard J. Clark explore the depths of human frailty, struggle, and dignity in their second album “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.”
The album coincides with the print publication from WLP | GIA Publications of the title track “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made,” a four-movement meditation on Psalm 139. The album also includes one of the final compositions of iconic New England composer Daniel Pinkham: “Scenes.” Written for Richard Kelley and in the final months of his life, Pinkham explores the abyss, mourning, and transcendence.
Defying all convention the album concludes with a bonus track featuring Richard Kelley on vocals in Clark’s category bending setting of poet E. Ethelbert Miller’s “If My Blackness Turns to Fruit.” Miller’s poem was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition in 2019 (marking Walt Whitman’s bicentennial). While it has been compared to Abel Meeropol’s “Strange Fruit” made famous by Billie Holiday, “If My Blackness Turns to Fruit” offers a new challenge for America. Shortly after the NPR broadcast, Miller asked Clark to compose music for the poem. The result: a classical art song in its bones but a traditional jazz ballad in its flesh. Miller’s evocative, yet hope-filled message is passionately delivered in a new, distinctive genre.
The recordings were digitally mastered by double-platinum-winning producer Paul Umbach.
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“The career of trumpeter Richard Kelley is not only a testament to the versatility of his instrument, but also to the ability of one individual to excel across the broadest possible range of music.” ~ Brian McCreath, WGBH.
“…Clark’s vivid sound colors and emotionally committed playing created a compelling, dramatic narrative.” ~ The Boston Musical Intelligencer
“The seasonal music (Clark) and his choir are making on this Sunday morning is something more than just nice. Stirring is one way to put it. Profound is another.” ~ The Boston Globe
Press Contact: Kara Clark | RJC Cecilia Records
Phone: 617-309-0343
Email: click here
PDF of this Press Release click here.
Richard A. Kelley is Principal Cornet of the Brass Band of Battle Creek. He performs regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Boston Philharmonic, and the Bach Beethoven Brahms Society. He currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Trumpet at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Mr. Kelley’s work can be heard on a wide variety of recordings, from national commercials to the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning soundtrack to Disney’s Pocahontas and Stephen Paulus’ Grammy-nominated Concerto for Two Trumpets and Band. Covering many styles of music, he has collaborated with many from John Williams and Yo-Yo Ma to Steven Tyler, Ray Charles and James Taylor. A passionate believer in the power of music education, Mr. Kelley taught for Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program for inner-city youth, and he continues to pass along his knowledge and love of music to younger generations in the Boston area.
Richard J. Clark is highly regarded as a composer of sacred music in particular for the Roman Rite. His choral, instrumental, and orchestral works have been performed worldwide. A highly versatile musician, his eclectic appearances range from the Celebrity Series of Boston, the Boston Philharmonic, and the Sacred Music Symposium in Los Angeles to Jive Records (Sony BMG), Fenway Park, and the New York Songwriters Circle at the historic The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. He currently serves as Archdiocesan and Cathedral Director of Music at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. He served as Director of Music at Saint Cecilia Church in Boston from 1992-2018 and as Organist since 1989. A New York native, he currently lives with his wife and four children just outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
Produced by Richard J. Clark and Richard A. Kelley
Tracks 1-10 • Recorded at Saint Cecilia Church, Boston, MA
Richard J. Clark plays the 1999 & 2001 IV/54 Smith & Gilbert Organ
Mastered by Paul Umbach @The Snug Studio, Las Vegas, NV
Tracks 7-10 Engineered by Evan Landry
Photography: Lyndie Laramore, George Martell
Track 11 • Richard Kelley, vocals, trumpet • Richard J. Clark, piano
Recorded at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, MA
COPYRIGHT © 2022 Richard J. Clark • R J C Cecilia Music • ASCAP • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
