Devon Press, "Moonlight" [starts at 3:02]: Despite having taken up residence in Chicago 10 years ago, Devon Press retains his New York pronunciation of "coffee" and his skepticism of deep dish pizza. The life-long musician now earns a living selling rare collectible books by JRR Tolkein. Devon has an ear for covers and samples and musical crossovers, particularly 1960s pop that references classical compositions. His track "Moonlight" uses a particular chord, the "Neapolitan 6th," that struck his curiosity, and found that Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata features it. He tried infusing that chord and its context with a more driving, folky rhythmic strumming and let that impulse guide the rest of the adaptation. Devon had Beethoven's own life story, and his struggles, in mind as he wrote the song's lyrics. This track pulls in so many different conceptual threads, from the chord structure to the lyrics, to the sonic elements he included "at the edge of hearing" as a nod to the original composer's infamous hearing loss. This piece of music contains many layers worth unpacking and meditating on, in a way that simultaneously centers the source material, and hides it behind a sound that engages modern ears. Learn more about Devon and his band Kangaroo at their Instagram: @kangaroochicago

Anni Rossi, "A Jelly Fish" [starts at 14:53]: Ridgewood-based Anni Rossi merges songwriting with performance, playwrighting and "clowning," which she describes as a playful performance art that lets her access "deeper presence" and "stranger impulses." Outside of her own work, she is a creativity coach and facilitator. For Anni, working with the public domain is about a universal throughline of collective experience that intersects with storytelling, and she enjoys pulling timeless threads out of artistic artifacts from our shared history. Her punk-inspired take on this Marianne Moore poem came naturally, through the sensory, visceral nature of the text, which she considers an important feature of punk music. She made a "handmade hybrid electric viola-tar," using a myrtle tree branch. Anni recorded this track on the final day for submissions, because time-based limitations help her be playful without time to be precious, creating a sense that the track is hovering at the edge of holding it together. Bringing a new, primal energy to things that have existed for a long time. Click here to learn more about Anni's songwriting and performance work, including a recently released vinyl album.

Brittain Ashford, "Hush, Little Darlin" [starts at 20:35]: Self-described public radio junkie Brittain Ashford is a musician and Broadway actor. In her words, she "dabbles in the dark arts of theater." She's influenced by folk rock acts like Iron and Wine, Belle and Sebastian and Jeff Buckley. Her adaptation of the traditional lullaby "Hush, Little Baby," comes from a fascination with lullaby as a global medium. Her version is meant to soothe not babies, but grown ups, particularly "an anxious beloved." She's been told that her voice is comforting to fall asleep to, and she decided to run with it. The track is soft and sparse, with changes to the original, simple melody that tone down the silliness and update them to speak in a voice more modern and authentic to her. Her song marks the end of her phase of exploring lullaby, and she's been working on some new music that you can check out here.

Dreamglow, "Sonnet 43" [starts at 29:56]: Nathan Halbur and Angela Yam write music together as Dreamglow, a project that builds on their roots in classical music that enabled them to infuse neo-soul, R&B, dreampop and other modern impulses, and allow them to collaborate with other modern artists in Boston, where they are based. They picked one of Shakespeare's sonnets to adapt because it's related to a Gregorian chant about sleep that resonates with the Shakespeare poem, which explores light and darkness, and a romantic devotion that retains the emotional impulse of the church's music, but in a secular way. It demonstrates how exploring the public domain can be about not only finding connections between the past and the present, but also finding conversations between two different parts of the past that can create a timelessness that resonates with modern listeners. The track's rhythms and harmonies create a dreamlike push and pull that evokes a sense of drifting in and out of different dreams, oscillating between a soft peace and comfort, and an insistent but mysterious glory. Humans have been engaging with dreams for our entire history, and Dreamglow's use of these two historic inspirations to create this beautiful and modern-sounding piece use lyrical and musical vocabularies that illuminate that eternal fascination. Learn more about Dreamglow at their Instagram.

Ra Le Bu, "Sparks Fly (The John Henry Song)" [starts at 39:37]: Bed-Stuy based Ra Le Bu has a "never die, never quit" Brooklyn attitude. He works to help clean plastic waste from NYC's waters. He wrote this song to share the story of John Henry with his daughter, as his mother shared it with him. He feels like John Henry is a member of his family, which shows how public domain sources often play intimate roles in our lives, beyond their historical interest. The repeated line, "Living for something, dying for the same thing," is about Ra's level of intensity. He says that dying doesn't have to mean a physical death in this context, but could represent the death of morality, or of a part of ourselves. Ra's submission is a deeply personal act of music that demonstrates the way that some stories can help create a sense of belonging in a culture, when those stories belong to us all, rather than being attributable to a particular artist. You can follow Ra at his Instagram.

Devon Yesberger and Mark Dover: "The Swan" [starts at 44:15]: Devon makes music as "Hush Mountain,' and loves collaborating with other musicians, including Mark, who plays clarinet in a chamber ensemble, Imani Winds. The track comes from a live take of a Juno 106 and bass clarinet, with layers added on top after that. The way the electronic synth blends with the pure analog tones of the clarinets serves brings a musical sense of the blending of past and present that public domain adaptations invite. The pair of musicians talks about their contribution to this classic piece coming most strongly in terms of the instrumentation: the particular challenges of synth sounds, and the intentional use of a woodwind instrument to evoke the string timber intended in the original composition. Devon and Mark demonstrate with this track how classically-minded musicians can move beyond interpretation and into adaptation, and how that impulse can lend new meanings to old, iconic melodies. You can learn more about Devon's work here, and Mark, here.