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New Focus Recordings Releases Forbidden Oracles, a New Album by Elijah Daniel Smith

Oct. 29, 2026

New Focus Recordings recently released Forbidden Oracles, a five movement work by Elijah Daniel Smith for saxophone quartet (~Nois Quartet) and percussion quartet (Sō Percussion) that takes its inspiration from an ancient codex containing 37 foreboding oracles. Smith's compositional language engages with sound mass, microtonality, rhythmic intricacy, and repetition with variation, in ways that defy prediction on the local level while providing inevitable structural direction. The composer notes:

"Forbidden Oracles is inspired by a miniature codex that contains 37 oracles, entitled The Gospel of the Lots of Mary according to its incipit. These oracles would be chosen via lot divination so as to provide the petitioner with a response to a question. In the case of this particular text, it is unclear exactly how the oracular number was determined. Fragments of this text and others quite similar to it have also been found at the shrine of St. Colluthus at Antinoe, the shrine of St. Philoxenus at Oxyrhynchus, and the Monastery of Apa Apollo at Bawit. Scholars (Luijendijk and Klingshirn 2019) suggest that the oraclemonger likely offered oracular responses to those seeking help during pilgrimages or festivals. Though not religious myself, I have long been enamored with theology and the history of religion.

These oracles immediately fascinated me because of how much they differ in tone from modern day horoscopes. Whereas horoscopes today are equally vague and applicable to as many situations as possible, they are often much more optimistic and gentle in their language. These oracles are remarkably dark and predict pain, suffering, doom, and hardship in a way that would be shocking to contemporary readers. While I won't try to make any qualitative statements about why that may be, the nature of these oracles struck me as a remarkably inspiring for dark and unsettling music. For this piece, I have chosen 5 oracles that I feel work well together for the purposes of this piece."


Forbidden Oracles: II. Human Evil by Elijah Daniel Smith, performed by ~Nois Quartet and Sō Percussion

For more information about Forbidden Oracles and to purchase the album, visit newfocusrecordings.com.
To learn more about Elijah Daniel Smith, visit psnymusic.com.

Elijah Daniel Smith
Forbidden Oracles (2025)
for saxophone quartet and percussion quartet

Soprano Saxophone (doubles Baritone Saxophone tuned 1/4 step lower)
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

Percussion 1:
Steel Drums (one drum tuned 1 /4 step higher)
Brake Drum
Temple Blocks
Soprano Recorder

Percussion 2:
Vibraphone
Anvil

Percussion 3:
Drum Kit
Glockenspiel
Soprano Recorder

Percussion 4:
Marimba (5 Octaves)
Almglocken (C4 - C5)
2 Bongos (High, Low)

30'

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