The West’s favourite holiday resounds with musical cheer, and always we crave a slightly original take on the classics – something a little fresh, but not straying too far from the warmth and familiarity we’re used to.
Piano
New music from the poetic and distinct corner of creativity that is Ivano Bersini’s compositions – Love is instantly recognisable as Bersini’s style, but at the same time, this is once again a completely new take on the concept of pairing piano and poetry.
Romanian pianist and composer Andrei Irimia astounds with this work. Initially engaging listeners with a profound and emotional piano performance, Fragments soon evolves through a boldly electronic ambiance, an industrial to cinematic sense of drama, to effectively redirect us entirely.
Piano-led and intimate but mildly theatrical – TheEccentricLad delivers a boldly poetic, metaphorical journey, for the organic and evocative Vapors Of Love.
Building up beautifully from intimate and haunting to dramatic and impassioned, its the live aspect of the playing that grips you – the melody is unsettled, sometimes comforting, but for the most part this feels like an outcry on behalf of the soul itself; an artistic manifestation of conflicting emotions and the true vastness of existence.
Themes of love lost and its ‘lingering beauty’ make up much of the lyrical journey, and Robert’s repertoire features a rotating cast of singers whom have each been recognised as finalists in either The Voice or American Idol. This unique performative ability helps bring to life the genuine emotion and passion of every Lonesome Echo song, and Don’t Give Up On Us exemplifies that quality perhaps more so than any other.
Musically inspired by JS BACH and Benedetto Marcello, Minuet 5.0 features a solo piano thread descending under vocal harmonies and a softly spoken poem about children.
With words delivered again by Stephanie Rodriguez M, Minuet 5.0 repeats the word ‘children’ throughout, forever reinforcing the innocence at the heart of the writing, and thus heavily juxtaposing this innocence and love with the shattering darkness and devastation of a polluted and desperately broken world.
When the gift of music shines its light through just a solo performance on a single instrument, it holds the power to remind us of the essence of our being – the simplicity of life that can feel far more rewarding and fulfilling than anything overly loud or complex.
Solo pianist and composer Michael Strening Jr. captures precisely that quality, with the easy rise and fall of his melodically and rhythmically evocative Into The Light.
Delicate solo harmonies and dramatic piano create a compelling opening dynamic, as Liz Davinci proceeds to craft a chamber of poetic contemplation, for Adamas.
Composer Ube Palomino captures the imaginative freedom of instrumental expression, with the uniquely evocative, intimate to cinematic arrangements of The Hinterlands Suite.
This is something fearlessly original at present, and yet it’s also broadly appealing, creatively engaging, and instantly recognisable. That’s an uncommon fusion of qualities, and as such, Ivano Bersini has crafted something rather profound with Poems.
Built around fast yet evocative piano playing from musician Haley Myles, with full orchestral support as things evolve, Concerto for Renaud unites emotional intensity with a distinct and recognisable melodic thread – a haunting but deeply moving progression that’s quickly unmistakable.