On Friday, July 26, 2024, soprano Karen Slack – known for performances that “ripped the audience’s hearts out” (Opera News) – and pianist Michelle Cann – “one of the most visible components of the music of Florence Price (Chicago Tribune) – unveil Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price on Azica Records. Produced by Azica’s Alan Bise and ONEcomposer, this highly anticipated album features 19 unpublished songs by Price, including 16 world premiere recordings. Beyond the Years is an opportunity to connect historically excluded musical legacies with present-day artistic excellence, motivated by the woman who first inspired this initiative: Florence Beatrice Price.

ONEcomposer states, “The opportunity to hear Price’s songs performed by industry leaders positions her where she belongs– alongside the great art song composers. Karen Slack is one of the most gifted communicators in her industry, and her versatility in presenting recitals, chamber music, and opera is exceptional. Michelle Cann has been championing the works of Florence Price for many years. This album is advocacy. It is an invitation to performers, educators, musicologists, and anyone with curiosity to continue the work of fully realizing Price’s legacy.”

Known for performances that “ripped the audience’s hearts out” (Opera News), Karen Slack is a devoted champion of the music of Black composers, past and present. Of her first commercial recording, she says “I know that I am the artist for this time to bring these pieces to life, and I couldn’t think of a better partner than the dynamic pianist Michelle Cann to breathe life into this work. The album title Beyond The Years was chosen because while all of these pieces were written before I was born, they feel fresh and sound as if they were written yesterday!”

Speaking on the opportunity to work on her first solo recording, Slack states, “When ONEcomposer approached me with the opportunity to collaborate on a solo recording, I was elated. Each of these songs is incredibly beautiful, and it saddened me to learn that many of these amazing works hadn’t seen the light of day in over 70 years, if ever! Thinking about Ms. Price’s incredible story and knowing that, although much has changed institutionally, many things remain the same, it reminded me of times I’ve been in spaces where I certainly belonged but felt unseen and unwelcome. I know that I am the artist for this time to bring these pieces to life, and I couldn’t think of a better partner than the dynamic pianist Michelle Cann to breathe life into this work.”

Recognized as a leading interpreter of the piano music of Florence Price, Michelle Cann performed the New York City premiere of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in July 2016 and the Philadelphia premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in February 2021. Her recording of the concerto with the New York Youth Symphony won a GRAMMY® Award in 2023 for Best Orchestral Performance. Her acclaimed debut solo album Revival, featuring music by Price and Margaret Bonds, was released in May 2023 on the Curtis Studio label. She has also recorded two Price piano quintets with the Catalyst Quartet.

With an ever-increasing awareness of the excellence that defined her career, Florence Price is finally receiving the recognition that she deserves. Price won the Wanamaker Prize in 1932, and she was the first Black woman to have a symphony premiered by a major American orchestra. Beyond the Years hones in on Florence Price as the composer of songs. Amongst Price’s treasures in the archives at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, is her well worn copy of Vaccai: Practical Method of Italian Singing, a symbol of her fastidious commitment to writing idiomatically for the voice. Whether it was her love of text setting or her belief that her songs could be more easily shared than her larger scale works, Price worked tirelessly advocating for this repertoire. She regularly corresponded with great singers of her generation including Carol Brice, Camilla Williams, Inez Matthews, and Marian Anderson, frequently sending songs for their consideration and use. As performed by Karen Slack and Michelle Cann, these songs are receiving new life.