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DACAMERA Editions’ inaugural release is the premiere recording of Tyshawn Sorey's "Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)". The acclaimed 75-minute score is performed by DACAMERA Artists Davóne Tines (bass-baritone), Kim Kashkashian (viola), Sarah Rothenberg (piano/celesta), Steven Schick (percussion), along with the Houston Chamber Choir, conducted by Sorey.
"Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)" was jointly commissioned by DACAMERA and Rothko Chapel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the renowned interfaith chapel in Houston. In turn, Sorey drew inspiration from Rothko’s late paintings and Morton Feldman's "Rothko Chapel," which premiered there in 1972. A spell-binding work of ethereal color and emotional intensity, Sorey's 75-minute score envelops the listener in its luminous sound world.
Sorey departs from Feldman’s instrumentation with two crucial changes: he has added a bass-baritone part, written expressly for Davóne Tines, and has expanded the keyboard role, adding piano to celesta. Tines sings fragments of the spiritual Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, which, interweaving with Kashkashian’s expressive viola line, builds to a transcendent climax.
The premiere of "Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)", performed by the artists on this recording, was cited by The New York Times and The New Yorker as one of the top ten classical performances of 2022. The score was a Finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music, which Sorey won the following year for "Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith)."
The Financial Times called "Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)" "absorbing and luminous," while The New York Times observed, "Sorey...has responded to the chapel and its paintings – as well as to one of late-20th-century music’s classic works – bravely, with a small group of instruments virtually identical to those of [Feldman's] 'Rothko Chapel'... For Sorey to interpolate his own invocation, his own heritage, history and memory, is a gesture of both respect and daring.”
released January 30, 2026
Produced by Judith Sherman
Engineered by Judith Sherman and Francis Schmidt
Edited by Judith Sherman and Jeanne Velonis
Mixed at John Kilgore Sound by John Kilgore, Judith Sherman, and Tyshawn Sorey
Mastered at Swan Studios, New York, Meyer Media LLC by Andreas Meyer and Judith Sherman
Executive Producer: Sarah Rothenberg
Design by Aaron C. Lazar
Media relations: DOTDOTDOTMUSIC
