I. Vincent Persichetti
The place where men meet to seek the highest is holy ground
Two movements from Philadelphia Portraits: A Spiritual Journey. Composed for and performed by Lois Bliss Herbine, Temple University, Rock Hall with pianist Charles Abramovic, May, 3, 2015 in a concert celebrating Cynthia Folio's birthday .
II. John Coltrane
Let us sing all songs to God To whom all praise is due …
III. Marian Anderson
I dearly love Negro Spirituals. They are the unburdenings of the sorrows of an
entire race, which, finding scant happiness on earth, turns to the future for its joys.
INVERNO AZUL (BLUE WINTER): CHAMBER MUSIC FOR FLUTE BY CYNTHIA FOLIO, BCM&D RECORDS
PICCOLO ON FOLIO'S PHILADELPHIA PORTRAITS WITH CHARLES ABRAMOVIC, PIANO and on Quintlexia
with Michele Kelly and Cynthia Folio flutes, Marc Adler alto flute and Christopher Shelb, bass flute
RECORDED 2014 AT BOYER COLLEGE RECORDING STUDIO, BOYER COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND DANCE, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, PHILADELPHIA, PA, DAVID PASBRIG, RECORDING ENGINEER
Two movements from Philadelphia Portraits: A Spiritual Journey. Composed for and performed by Lois Bliss Herbine, Rowan University, Boyd Hall with pianist Stan DeLage, Feb 19, 2024 in a recital of piccolo music by Mike Mower, Vincent Persichetti and Cynthia Folio.
IV. Benjamin Franklin
Of all my inventions, the glass armonica has given me the greatest personal satisfaction
V. Betsy Ross
Ev’ry heart beats true ‘neath the Red, White and Blue (George M. Cohan, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”)
A high point of the disc is Philadelphia Portraits: A Spiritual Journey, a five-movement work commissioned by Herbine for piccolo and piano. Each movement touches, musically, on the essence of five renowned Philadelphians—composer Vincent Persichetti, jazz great John Coltrane, the singer and civil rights pioneer Marian Anderson, inventor/statesman Benjamin Franklin, and the nation’s best-known seamstress, Betsy Ross. Folio’s miniatures nail the essential character of their subjects to a remarkable degree and Herbine’s robustly expressive and subtly colored performance seals the deal.”