My Favorite Albums of 2024, part 1

*Not* a "best of" list!

Back in early August, I posted a list of twelve of my favorite albums of the year to that point, but now that the end of 2024 is approaching, I’m tripling that count with a rundown of three dozen favorite albums over the next three installments. While I’m cutting and pasting some of the prose from the August installment, I’m updating the records listed earlier with some new videos.

As I wrote in August, please note that I don't call this a "best of" list, because to do so suggests an impossible objectivity. Aside from the fact that I've heard only a tiny percentage of the torrent of music released this year, I don't hold my own taste in such high regard.

Music criticism is a subjective dialogue, and to the extent that it is "useful," it may introduce listeners to music that they may not have heard otherwise, and it may provide some sort of context for their listening. Furthermore, some of you may be familiar with my taste, and so to the extent that it aligns with your own, it may be a useful predictor of how you may respond to the music that I enjoy—or it may not. The subjective, eccentric quality of the endeavor is what makes it fun (to me, anyway).

Caveats aside, these are the new records that I have had on repeat this year. So here is the first dozen, in alphabetical order by performer/ensemble—or by composer if that seems more appropriate:

Arooj Aftab: Night Reign (Verve)

Arooj Aftab is a Pakistani American singer and composer, whose music defies easy categorization. She has collaborated with a number of jazz musicians, notably pianist Vijay Iyer, who makes a guest appearance here, and in addition to her original compositions, she sometimes puts her own spin on jazz standards. This is the case here with the dreamiest version of "Autumn Leaves" you will ever hear. Elsewhere she combines sonic landscapes of jazz and classical chamber music, along with traditional Pakistani sounds, to create an immersive wall of sound. A stunning, gorgeous album.

Albion Ensemble: Mozart: Gran Partita (Hyperion)

Perhaps the greatest piece ever composed for chamber wind ensemble—performed flawlessly here in impeccable sound. The independent classical Hyperion label has released a number of superb records this year.

Melissa Aldana: Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)

Tenor saxophonist Aldana has been making waves in the jazz world for the past decade, channeling masters (especially Wayne Shorter, in terms both of compositional style and the tone of her horn) and developing her own signature sound. To my ears, this is her best record to date, both in terms of composition and improvisation.

Blasius Amon: Sacred Works (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)

—Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel

Blasius Amon was a Tyrolean composer in the second half of the sixteenth century. He was steeped in both German and Italian polyphony and wrote an impressive amount of music before his early death at the age of thirty. The Huelgas Ensemble here provides us with dreamy performances of selections of his sacred music.

Ashe: Willson (Stem)

I honestly don’t know why Ashe isn’t a bigger star. Her music is immediately accessible and memorable. She’s got a great voice, and she’s beautiful. Her 2022 album Rae was a stunner, and now here is another record full of catchy hooks, clever lyrics, and pop heartbreak. If it was a “brat” summer, then perhaps it will be an Ashe winter.

Bach: Complete Cello Suites (Harmonia Mundi)

—Jean-Guihen Queyras

When classical musicians re-record canonical works, we may well raise an eyebrow. Do they have anything new to say? Is this simply the result of a new exclusive recording contract? Or preparation for a concert tour? Since every major cellist records these suites, the competition is fierce, but what a blessing to the lover of Bach to have all of these interpretations to choose from, classic and new: Casals, Bylsma, Rostropovich, Ma (twice), Weilerstein, Queyras, and now Queyras redux (not to mention transcriptions performed on other instruments). In this case, seventeen years after his first recording of the suites, the results justify the project. This music is in Queyras’s bones, and you can feel it. He makes the difficult seem effortless, but also meditative. This is an album to sit with for many blissful hours.

Bach: Keyboard Concertos (Naïve)

—Tianqi Du, Jonathan Bloxam, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Purists may object to Bach's keyboard music on a modern piano, but this record makes a strong case for it. From the harmonic intensity of the aufspinnen climax of the D-Minor Concerto's opening movement through the heart-meltingly beautiful slow movement of the F-Minor Concerto, Du plays with fire and finesse. The balances in the recording are tilted toward the keyboard and away from the orchestra, but I don't mind, as Jonathan Bloxam and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields play their supporting role with elegant sensitivity. This is some wonderful Bach.

Boccherini: Music of the Angels: Cello Concertos, Sonatas, and Quintets (Hyperion)

—Steven Isserlis, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, et al.

Cellists feature prominently in this year’s list of favorite albums—three entries in this first dozen! I’m not sure what accounts for this. I do love the cello, but I think it may just be a coincidence that there are a lot of great records featuring the instrument this year. Among the three cello-related entries in this post, Boccherini’s is certainly the least familiar. This is unfortunate. Not only was Boccherini himself a cellist, but also his music for the instrument is unfailingly beautiful and distinctive. On this album, the great English cellist Steven Isserlis provides the best possible introduction to the great composer’s music for cello.

Elgar and Walton: Cello Concertos (Erato)

—Gautier Capuçon (cello), London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano

Since these are the two most famous cello concertos by English composers, they are often paired on disc. Of course, any performance of the Elgar concerto is instantly compared to Jacqueline du Pré’s legendary recording with John Barbirolli. However, if you listen to Capuçon’s performance here in isolation, you will be struck by the crystalline sonics and the shattering playing. There is room for another great Elgar Cello Concerto record, and I think this is one. But don’t sleep on the Walton: it could not be any more different from the Elgar, and it exemplifies the composer’s distinctive melodic vocabulary and orchestral color palette.

The Cure: Songs of a Lost World (Polydor)

Hello, gloomy old friend. What a welcome surprise: not only do we have the first album by The Cure in sixteen years, it’s one of their best ever. Robert Smith and company are uncompromisingly bleak throughout Songs of a Lost World, but the arrangements are sublime. Sometimes you might be reminded of 1982’s Pornography, a much-lauded album that I find claustrophobic and difficult to listen to, but I think that this album surpasses it in terms of song-craft, lyrical content, and heartfelt performances. In the ten-minute closer, “Endsong,” Smith sings:

And I'm outside in the dark,
Staring at the blood red moon,
Remembering the hopes and dreams I had,
And all I had to do,
And wondering what became of that boy,
And the world he called his own,
I'm outside in the dark,
Wondering how I got so old.

It’s all gone.

We hear you, Robert.

The Decemberists: As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again (YABB Records/Thirty Tigers)

If you know the Decemberists, then you know to expect some folk-tinged, highly literate rock earworms, and you either love or hate Colin Meloy's voice. I'm a sucker for all of it, though I wasn't much of a fan of their last album, I'll Be Your Girl. This double album, however, gives me everything I love about the band—the eclectic influences, the quirky lyrics, and tunes that tunnel their way into your brain. Furthermore, Hilary Mantel enthusiasts (and followers of

Simon Haisell

) will be excited by the inclusion of the tune "William Fitzwilliam." Yes, that William Fitzwilliam. Other highlights are the Latin-inflected "Oh No!," the dark ballad "Long White Veil” (“I married her, I carried her, on the very same day I buried her”), and the epic "Joan in the Garden."

O.L. Fernández: Symphonies Nos. 1-2, Reisado do Pastoreio

—Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra, Fabio Mechetti

I listened to this album on a whim, because I thought that the cover art was cool, and I’m glad I did. (The cover art, by the way, is a painting from 1930 by the Brazilian artist Ismael Nery.) I had never heard of Oscar Lorenzo Fernández, but according to this album’s liner notes, he was an important national composer in early-twentieth century Brazil. The music combines a lean Neo-Romanticism with (tonal) modernist influences to create a distinctive, compelling sonic tapestry. The whole album is gorgeous, but for my money, the highlight is the tremendously impressive Symphony No. 1. It’s all performed with gusto by Fabio Mechetti and the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra, who clearly believe in this music. This is a record that will repay multiple listens.

All of these albums should be easily available on your streaming service of choice, and for purchase in physical or digital copies. Parts 2 and 3 of the list, with two dozen more new albums, will be forthcoming very soon.

Thanks for reading, from my fancy internet record player to yours.

Photo by Lee Campbell on Unsplash