CD Review | Mark Abel: 4.4.2, Simone McIntosh, Delos

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Mark Abel: 4.4.2

Simone McIntosh, mezzo-soprano; Michael McMahon, piano; Alice K. Dade, flute and piccolo; Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano; Jennifer Choi, violin; Jonah Kim, cello; Keisuke Nakagoshi, piano

Delos, 2026

California-based composer Mark Abel’s most recent album 4.4.2 contains four pieces of music; each for a pair of musicians. The first is a cycle of four songs for mezzo-soprano and piano setting texts by the composer inspired by the soap opera As the World Turns which gives the cycle its title. The opening of the first song, “Rising High,” might lead one to think this was going to be another rather dull American song cycle but it soon gets more complex and interesting with an often emphatic vocal line and some real originality in the piano part. It’s very well performed by Simone McIntosh and Michael McMahon.

Samantha Sketches is equally inventive. It’s a set of three pieces for flute (piccolo in the second piece) and piano. The first movement, “Best of Intentions,” is lively, melodic and inventive and it’s followed by a more introspective second movement, “Skyward.” The finale, “An Urgent Manner,” is busier and more insistent. The performance by Alice K. Dade on flute and Ieva Jokubaviciute on piano is convincing.

Symbiotica is scored for the unusual combination of violin (Jennifer Choi) and organ (the composer). The pairing of instruments works well in a two-movement piece that, perhaps more than the other pieces on the disk, reflects Abel’s deep background in more popular idioms. It’s playful and a bit jazzy. Rather fun in fact.

The final work is A Door Opens for cello (Jonah Kim) and piano (Keisuke Nakagoshi). The first of two movements is reflective and rather beautiful, while the second has considerable rhythmical complexity. It’s all tonal, but inventively so. It’s also another fine performance.

The recordings were made at various locations across North America between May 2024 and April 2025. They are all perfectly fine. They are available as a physical CD, MP3 and lossless digital in 44.1kHz/16 bit and 96kHz/24 bit resolutions. The hi-res version was used for the review. There’s a booklet with notes, bios and texts, and the Kandinsky-like cover art is AI generated.

So, 72 minutes of inventive, tonal chamber music. It doesn’t break any new ground but it’s enjoyable and the composer has assembled an excellent team of musicians for the recording.