River of Fire

The Cavatina Duo — renowned Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagić and Spanish flutist Eugenia Moliner — collaborates with the Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet on River of Fire, an album featuring world-premiere recordings of five original compositions that bridge classical traditions and Gypsy influences.

The works, composed for the duo by Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Matthew Dunne, Stacy Garrop, and Atanas Ourkouzounov, draw on the music and history of the Romani diaspora, weaving a narrative of migration, displacement, and resilience. The Cavatina Duo is committed to innovation and cultural exploration with a deep understanding of historical influences, from Balkan and Spanish Gypsy music to Indian classical traditions, emphasizing an East-to-West and West-to-East exchange, echoing Gypsy music’s historic migration.

Each movement of Garrop’s Romani Songs explores a different aspect of Romani music, including an original arrangement of Ederlezi, a traditional Romani song depicting the changing of seasons. Garrop was inspired by Romani dancers and her work, performed with cellist Brandon Vamos, incorporates clapping, stomping, and the guitar as percussion.

Violinist Simin Ganatra joins in Sérgio Assad’s Contos Ciganos, a work that encapsulates musical influences from global cultures that permeate the Romani sound. It follows the historical dissemination of the Romani people from the traditional dances of India’s Punjab region to Gelem Gelem, a Romani anthem inspired by the unique cultural blend found in northeastern Brazil.

Ourkouzounov’s Raga Ibraima blends Balkan and Romani musical influences with the traditional Indian raga. This piece pays homage to Ivo Papazov, a Bulgarian-Romani clarinetist who garnered international recognition for bringing his unique musical heritage to “wedding band” music in Stambolovo, Bulgaria.

Dunne composed Three Artisans in memory of flutist Tal Perkes. Its three movements — The Painter, The Architect, and The Flute Player — acknowledge Perkes’s life pursuits while weaving in European jazz, Flamenco, and Romani musical influences.

The Pacifica Quartet joins for Grammy Award-nominated Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad’s Four Scenes, which depict the Romani experience of being in constant motion, the fleeting comfort of temporary homes, and the anxiety of instability.