A varied selection of works by Australian & American composers, of both religious and secular nature. Inspirational organ pieces, ambient solo piano pieces, avant-garde improvisations and a Beethovian jazz fusion romp.

15 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary, AVANT GARDE: Classical Avant-Garde

Details:
Jade CDs are widely heard on national and fine music stations throughout Australia, and are recognised as a valuable resource by educational authorities as being uniquely representative of the work of Australian composers. They are manufactured in limited runs of 500 and, as stocks are therefore limited, may be regarded as collectors' items! All Jade CD covers are distinctive. Most Jade CDs have an anthology format and include works by several composers. It's great to have these CDs on offer for a wider audience at CD Baby!

"LINES OF LIGHT" JADCD 1091

Works by: Carson P. Cooman, Robert Allworth, Eric Gross, Ian Shanahan, Derek Strahan , Eric Gross. Duration: 76'06"

This is the second Jade CD featuring works by both American and Australian composers. Prolific US composer Carson P. Cooman, also a fine organist, again performs music by Allworth, his "Suite for organ (2001), Visions of Saint Catherine Laboure, St. Michael the Archangel", commissioned by the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Michael, Callas, New York, USA. Cooman plays three of his own organ works, "Gallery Music: A Processional Fanfare" (2000), "Twilight Undulations" & "Sunburst: A Recessional Fanfare" (2001). These works were all recorded in the USA, featuring the magnificent sonorities of the Organ of the Rochester Christian Reformed Church, Penfield, New York. Allworth also contributes three impressionist solo piano pieces written using serial techniques, depicting favourite harbourside locations in Sydney, Australia; and his impressive 13'00" "Cardboard Cantata" (2000) , written for mandolin ensemble with piano, after the title of a book by Prince Lorenzo Montesini.

The CD is named after Shanahan's "Lines of Light: Seven Improvisation on aitheros melos (Music of the Spheres)" (1991/1993), a work for amplified recorders, Yamaha DX7 keyboard synthesizers and percussion, performed respectively by the composer, Roger Dean and Daryl Pratt. In this strikingly original 11'10" work, Shanahan invokes the notion of solar spectra. Roger Dean also performs Shanahan's short and related solo piano piece, "Arc Of Light".

Strahan's "The Beethoven Boogie" (1982), a 9'00" joke for 8-piece jazz ensemble, including cello, satirizes the 80's "switched-on classics" pop fad, by adapting its style to an entire movement in strict sonata form. This piece is the last movement of Strahan's Jazz Fusion Suite, of which the first movement ,"Triple Six", was released on Jade CD "Fray" JADCD 1086, and the second movement, "Free Spirit", on Jade CD "Music For A Candlelight Dinner" JADCD 1058, both CDs available at CD Baby.

In a similar spirit of whimsy, is Gross's lively "Sally in the Mallee" a short solo piece written for pianist Sally Mays, who requested something "a little bit crazy".

People who are interested in Dave Brubeck Olivier Messiaen Edgard Varèse Alban Berg should consider this download.