Over the past week, the Nonesuch Journal has posted a series of videos leading to the January 22 release of the seven-disc box set Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, the first recording of the his Symphony No. 4, and the first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of his Symphony No. 3. The previous videos include interviews with the late composer; his son Mikolaj, who completed his father’s Fourth Symphony; Adrian Thomas, who wrote the liner notes; and conductor Andrey Boreyko, who led the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s premiere and recording of Symphony No. 4. Today comes the final in this series of videos: an excerpt from the premiere performance of Symphony No. 4. Watch it here.

The five-part series celebrating the January 22 release of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective and the first recording of the late composer's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, continues. Today, we hear from conductor Andrey Boreyko, who led the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the premiere performance and Nonesuch recording of the new piece. "I hear these chorales bringing a very special atmosphere of concentrating on one’s own life," says Boreyko, "the lives of other people, things that happened, the meaning of it all, the afterlife, is there a light at the end of the tunnel or isn’t there? I believe this symphony as a whole is trying to answer this question as well." Watch the interview here.

The Nonesuch Journal continues its five-part video series marking the forthcoming release of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective and the first recording of the late composer's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, by hearing from Adrian Thomas, the author of the book Górecki and of the liner notes for the new recording. "What you get in this Fourth Symphony is pretty much the widest range of Henryk's character," says Thomas. "I think he had very broad interests in terms of what constitutes the mind, what constitutes the spirit, what constitutes the soul, and that can involve earthy things as well as ethereal things, and this is what you get in the Fourth Symphony." Watch the interview here.

Yesterday, the Nonesuch Journal began a five-part series of videos marking the forthcoming release of the seven-disc box set Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective with the first recording of the late composer's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, on Friday, January 22. Today, Górecki’s son, composer Mikolaj, who completed Symphony No. 4 after his father’s death, discusses the piece; his relationship with his father as son and pupil; and his efforts to complete the piece after the precise indications for orchestration his father had left in the score.

Nonesuch Records releases Michael Daves's two-album set, Orchids and Violence, on February 26, 2016. Orchids and Violence comprises two discs with identical track listings of mostly traditional bluegrass tunes, including songs by bluegrass pioneers Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. The first disc features straightforward interpretations recorded in a 19th-century church with a band of roots-music innovators: bassist Mike Bub, violinist Brittany Haas, mandolinist Sarah Jarosz, and Punch Brothers banjoist Noam Pikelny. The second disc was recorded in Daves's home studio and includes bass, drums, and electric guitar, mostly played by Daves, and takes a raw, experimental rock approach to the same old-time material. Pre-orders include an instant download of both the bluegrass and electric versions of the song "The Dirt That You Throw."

The new six-song recording by The Arcs, entitled The Arcs vs. The Inventors Vol. I, featuring Dr. John and David Hidalgo, which was first released as a limited-edition vinyl 10" as part of Record Store Day's Black Friday event, is now available digitally; a limited quantity of the 10" vinyl is also now available in the Nonesuch Store. The disc is the first in a series of collaborative "Inventors" recordings to be released by The Arcs. The band is currently touring the US with music from Yours, Dreamily, its debut album.

Rhiannon Giddens's new five-song EP Factory Girl, which was first released as a vinyl 10" as part of the Black Friday Record Store Day event, is now available digitally; a limited quantity of the 10" vinyl is also now available in the Nonesuch Store. NPR Music's Ann Powers says: "Deftly curated, gorgeously sung, this EP is America." The EP is culled from the same T Bone Burnett–produced sessions that yielded her solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, which has been nominated for a Grammy Award and has landed on several lists of the year's best, including those from NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Sunday Times, Uncut, and Mojo. 

Today is the day after Thanksgiving in the US and that means, among other things, Record Store Day Black Friday, offering unique recordings from some of your favorite artists, including The Arcs, who have released The Arcs vs. The Inventors Vol. I, a new limited-edition 10" six-song recording featuring Dr. John and David Hidalgo, and Rhiannon Giddens, who releases Factory Girl, a five-song vinyl 10" EP culled from the same T Bone Burnett–produced sessions that yielded here solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn. To pick up a copy of these vinyl releases while supplies last, head to a record store near you.

Record Store Day has premiered The Arcs' new track "Young," which was co-written by David Berman of the Silver Jews. "We've been meeting at night, writing together for a few years," says The Arcs' Dan Auerbach. "This is the first time we've shared any of that. The Arcs have recorded more songs from the collaboration and we hope to release more of it very soon." You can hear the track here. The song appears on the band's limited-edition six-song recording, The Arcs vs. The Inventors Vol. I, featuring Dr. John and David Hidalgo. The 10" vinyl is out this Friday, November 27, for Record Store Day's Black Friday event. A digital version will be available December 11. The Arcs kick off a North American tour December 1.

Today marks the release of Junun, the new album from composer/musician Shye Ben Tzur, guitarist Jonny Greenwood, and the Rajasthan Express, a group of Indian musicians. Recorded earlier this year in a makeshift studio inside the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, India, the album was made with Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich. The album comprises Ben Tzur’s compositions, which feature devotional Sufi qawwal musicians who sing in Urdu as well as in his native Hebrew. "One of the most inspired releases of the year," exclaims the Sunday Times of London. "Intriguing, sinuous, and essential listening." Also out today on iTunes: Paul Thomas Anderson's film documenting the recording. Watch an outtake from the film featuring the song "Hu" here.

Rokia Traoré's sixth album, Né So (Home), will be released by Nonesuch Records on February 12, 2016. The album was produced by John Parish (PJ Harvey, Tracy Chapman), who also produced her 2013 record, Beautiful Africa. Né So features guest performances by John Paul Jones, Toni Morrison, and Traoré's labelmate Devendra Banhart, along with Burkinabe drummer Moïse Ouattara, Ivorian bassist Matthieu N'guessan, long-time collaborator Malian ngoni player Mamah Diabaté, guitarists Rodriguez Vangama and Stefano Pilia. The album, which features 10 original songs and a cover of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," is available to preorder with an instant downloaded of the title track. Traoré has released a video of that track, which you can watch here. She will tour in support of Né So this spring.

Today marks the release of Punch Brothers' five-song EP The Wireless. The tracks were recorded during sessions for the band's T Bone Burnett–produced album The Phosphorescent Blues, which was released earlier this year to critical acclaim, and four of the tracks were included on the vinyl edition of the album. The Chicago Tribune called the album "a typical genre-busting melange of avant-roots music that fuses jazz instrumental chops and acoustic earthiness, Beach Boys harmonies and Debussy string dances, slinky acoustic rock songs and blues laments." The Wireless comprises four original compositions, including a song with words by Gabriel Kahane entitled "Sleek White Baby," plus a cover of Elliott Smith's "Clementine."