Sustenance - Violin Music from Canada Elation Pauls

• Iman Habibi (b. 1985): Offering of Water:
• 1 Habibi: Offering of Water: I. of life 02:09
• 2 Habibi: Offering of Water: II. yasna 01:53
• 3 Habibi: Offering of Water: III. purify 03:24
• 4 Habibi: Offering of Water: IV. it shall flow if from tears 01:54
• 5 Habibi: Offering of Water: V. to life 02:36
• David Braid (b. 1975): The Interior Castle:
• 6 Braid: The Interior Castle 04:56
• Kelly-Marie Murphy (b. 1964): FIRE-AND-ICE-BODIED-DOUBLED-UP-WITHDRAWAL-ANXIETY:
• 7 Murphy: FIRE-AND-ICE-BODIED-DOUBLED-UP-WITHDRAWAL-ANXIETY: I. Mellifluous, heart-rending 05:58
• 8 Murphy: FIRE-AND-ICE-BODIED-DOUBLED-UP-WITHDRAWAL-ANXIETY: II. Agitated and possessed 04:13
• Carmen Braden (b. 1985): Foxy Fox’s Musical Games for Violin and Piano:
• 9 Braden: Foxy Fox’s Musical Games for Violin and Piano 06:43
• Joyce Clouston, Karen Sunabacka (b. 1975): Jack the Fiddler:
• 10 Clouston, Sunabacka: Jack the Fiddler 13:19
• Serouj Kradjian (b. 1973): Sari Aghtchig (Girl from the Mountain) for Violin and Piano:
• 11 Kradjian: Sari Aghtchig (Girl from the Mountain) for Violin and Piano 04:43
• Cris Derksen (1981): Country Food for Violin and Tape:
• 12 Derksen: Country Food for Violin and Tape 09:10
• David Braid: Without Words for Violin and Piano:
• 13 Braid: Without Words for Violin and Piano: I. Floating 02:03
• 14 Braid: Without Words for Violin and Piano: II. Prelude and Carmine 05:40
• Serouj Kradjian: Tango Melancólico for Violin and Piano:
• 15 Kradjian: Tango Melancólico for Violin and Piano 04:32
• Total Runtime 01:13:13

Info for Sustenance - Violin Music from Canada

With her captivating debut album SUSTENANCE, Canadian violinist Elation Pauls curates and performs a selection of works by contemporary composers from her homeland to explore personal and collective sources of vitality and joy. Music as existential nourishment for the soul.

Pauls writes, “In 2020, the world was overcome by a global health crisis. In the face of isolation and silence, I found myself grappling with the elemental question of what sustains and nourishes us when we are suffering. SUSTENANCE…is my response to that question. From the energy and joy that the interactive elements of song, play, and dance ignite, to themes of internal sustenance provided by the divine and more tangible elements of food and water, these new compositions explore personal and collective sources… In listening to and experiencing this music, may you discover something new, contemplate something old, and find an audible nugget of sustenance that you will want to share with others and hear again and again.”

Elation Pauls, violin
Serouj Kradjian, piano
David Braid, piano

Elation Pauls
Violinist Elation Pauls has performed in many of the major concert halls of North America and Europe including Carnegie Hall (NY), Jordan Hall (Boston), Herbst Theatre (San Francisco), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Leiszhalle (Hamburg) and at the Philharmonie (Berlin). She has performed as soloist in Canada and Germany, premiered many chamber works and summer festivals have included Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Kent/Blossom, Domaine Forget and Banff. As Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Rosamunde Summer Music Academy and Festival, Elation Pauls enjoys bringing international caliber mentoring and artistry to the heart of Canada every August. Since 2009 she has served as Assistant Principal Second Violinist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. In a recent collaboration with Manitoba’s Polycoro Chamber Choir she performed Bach’s Chaconne, where “She played with heart and soul, her violin carrying us into another realm with the singers’ chorales … deeply moving.” (Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press)

David Braid
Acclaimed in the Canadian press as “one of Canada’s true Renaissance men”, David Braid is a distinguished composer, improviser, and pianist who has won Canada’s highest music honour, the Juno Award, four times. A Steinway Artist and Composer-in-Residence with the Sinfonia UK Collective, he performs worldwide. Initially recognized as an “Ace Jazz Pianist” by The New York Observer, Braid later shifted his focus to composing chamber music while cultivating a new audience through an emphasis on narrative, rhythmic vitality, and ­spontaneity. Critics have described his works as “brilliant” (Montreal Gazette), “hauntingly beautiful” (The Globe & Mail), and “full of substance” (Pizzicato Magazine). His debut chamber album, *FLOW*, recorded with Prague’s Epoque String Quartet, received acclaim for its emotional depth. Additionally, Braid has been honored with the Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Keyboard Artistry from the Ontario Foundation for the Arts.

Serouj Kradjian
The New York Times has described Grammy-nominated and two-time Juno-award-winning Serouj Kradjian’s playing as a “persuasive balance between elegance and spirit,” while the Frankfurter Allgemeine noted that he has “a fiery temperament and elegant sound” with “technique to burn.” He is the Co-Artistic Director and pianist of Canada’s acclaimed Juno winning Amici Chamber Ensemble and has performed throughout North America, Europe, the Far East and Latin America. His discography includes over 15 recordings and his concerts have been broadcast around the world. Over 100 works commissioned, composed or arranged by Kradjian have been performed by the Toronto, Vancouver & Madrid Symphonies, the Fresno and the Armenian Philharmonic and the Toronto International Film Festival, among others. A member of SOCAN and ASCAP, he has been awarded multiple grants from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council for his artistic activities.

This album contains no booklet.