On The Joys of Recorded Music

Cedille Records augments its 2018 release, Notorious RBG in Song, critically proclaimed “an engrossing, episodic portrait” (WQXR) and “vivid and beautiful” (Classics Today) — with a digital single, “On the Joys of Recorded Music,” being released on March 6, in anticipation of what would have been Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 93rd birthday (March 15). Written by soprano and composer Patrice Michaels, praised as “a formidable interpretative talent” (The New Yorker), this standalone single features “luminous” (The New York Times) soprano Alisa Jordheim and Chicago collaborative pianist extraordinaire Kuang-Hao Huang. 

The song is set to Michaels’ lightly adapted text of a 1999 letter from Justice David H. Souter to James Ginsburg, founder and President of Cedille Records — and son of RBG. In the letter, Justice Souter expresses his admiration for the emotional power of Rachel Barton Pine‘s Cedille debut recording of the complete Handel Violin Sonatas, and his utter amazement that a recording could move him as deeply as a live performance. Initially composed for, but then excluded from Michaels’ cycle, THE LONG VIEW: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Nine Songs, because Justice Souter denied permission for publication during his lifetime, the piece could not be included on the original recording. After Souter’s passing in 2025, the rights to the letter transferred to the recipient, creating this opportunity for the song’s release. The original CD includes other world-premiere recordings of songs honoring Justice Ginsburg by Stacy Garrop, Vivian Fung, and Derrick Wang, plus an extant song by Lori Laitman complementing Michaels’ THE LONG VIEW portrait of RBG. Offered as a coda to the original song cycle, “On the Joys of Recorded Music” is a delightful meditation on Souter’s perspective about his friendship with RBG, the value of musical styles, and the possibilities for deep engagement through listening.

On the Joys of Recorded Music

Music by Patrice Michaels to a text by Justice David H. Souter

World Premiere Recording

This recording is made possible by support from the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Fund for Vocal Recordings at Cedille Records