The works on this disc are all world premiere recordings. In Spirit Voices for percussion and orchestra, American composer Steven Stucky has explored mythical beings from around the world, including Coyote, the trickster god of the Navajo Indians, mountain goblins of Japanese folk culture, and the Scottish bean nighe, a banshee portending death. Written for the performers on this disc, the score consists of seven movements in which the percussionist sometimes plays a soloistic role, and in others is integrated into the orchestra.

Pinturas de Tamayo is the result Stucky’s encounter with the art of the Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo. Initially struck by the painting ‘The Great Galaxy’ – reproduced on the cover of this CD – he chose this and four other paintings as his points of departure for a five-movement suite.