OUT NOW | Palaver Strings' New Album "Ready or Not"

Ready Or Not celebrates the diverse voices of women throughout the centuries, from the renaissance to the present day, and includes pieces commissioned and arranged for Palaver Strings.

The works on the album include Grażyna Bacewicz’s Concerto for String Orchestra, Non può il mio cuore by Venetian singer, lutenist, and composer Maddalena Casulana, composer Barbara Strozzi’s madrigal Lagrime mie featuring a performance by mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux, Chicago-based composer, vocalist, and pianist Akenya Seymour’s Fear the Lamb, and a set of fiddle tunes by two Portland-based fiddlers, Liz Knowles and Palaver’s own Elizabeth Moore.

"For too long, women have been shunted to the sidelines of history, their voices silenced and their influence minimized," Palaver Strings wrote on their website. "The history of classical music is no exception, and even the most gifted female musicians were discouraged from pursuing professional careers, their work relegated to the footnotes of music history textbooks.

"Even today as more opportunities open up for female performers, composers, directors, and producers, these systemic injustices persist."

To listen to and purchase this album, click here.

Based in Portland, Maine, Palaver Strings is a musician-led string ensemble and nonprofit organization which aims to engage new audiences, address social justice issues, and amplify underrepresented voices. They also serve over 325 students each year through the Palaver Music Center in Portland.