One of the leading American composers of his generation, Jake Heggie arrives on Avie with 'Passing By', a gorgeous collection of recent songs and duets performed by a superb line-up of international singers and instrumentalists.

Fresh from the extraordinary success of the Dallas Opera premiere of his opera Moby Dick – “a wonderful and rare reminder that new opera truly can excite people if it’s done right” (Washington Post) – Guggenheim Fellowship recipient Heggie describes this collection as “songs that tell stories about now and then. Reflections of family, friends and lovers passing by. A missed or mistaken connection, a moment when everything might have been different. People who entered our lives and would be there forever, then suddenly were not there at all.”

Indelibly associated with his acclaimed operas, including Dead Man Walking (which made the Top 10 of Billboard’s Classical Chart), Three Decembers and The End of the Affair, Jake’s heart and soul lie in storytelling through song. With lyrics and poetry by the likes of A E Housman, Terrence McNally and Rilke, the songs of Passing By reflect the great American songbook tradition, replete with achingly beautiful melodies and striking observations of life’s journeys.

As ‘Passing By’ illustrates, Jake’s music is championed by the most illustrious international signers, many of whom he has also collaborated with as a pianist. He has received commissions from San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Carnegie Hall and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has had performances as far afield as Australia, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and South Africa.

Track Listing:
1. A Lucky Child, from At the Statue of Venus (McNally)
Susan Graham

Some Times of Day (Carver), three songs for mezzo-soprano and piano trio:
2. The Minuet
3. Simple
4. The Best Time of the Day
Zheng Cao

Facing Forward/Looking Back - duets for two women and piano:
5. Motherwit (Baldridge)
6. Grounded (Zukerman)
7. Mother in the Mirror (Maupin)
8. Facing Forward (Heggie)
Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham & Joyce DiDonato

Here and Gone: songs and duets for tenor, baritone and piano quartet:
9. The Farms of Home (Housman)
10. In Praise of Songs That Die (Lindsay)
11. Stars (Housman)
12. The Factory Window Song (Lindsay)
13. In the Morning (Housman)
14. Because I Liked You Better (Housman)
15. The Half-Moon Westers Low (Housman)
Paul Groves & Keith Phares

16. To Say Before Going to Sleep (Rilke, trans. by A.E. Flemming)
Joyce DiDonato

Songs and Sonnets to Ophelia:
17. Ophelia’s Song (Heggie)
18. Women Have Loved Before (Millay)
19. Not in a Silver Casket (Millay)
20. Spring (Millay)
Isabel Bayrakdarian

21. Final Monologue from Master Class (McNally)
Joyce DiDonato