Original piano music inspired by the artwork of Marc Chagall

9 MP3 Songs in this album (62:11) !
Related styles: CLASSICAL: Contemporary, CLASSICAL: Piano solo

People who are interested in Ludwig van Beethoven Elvis Presley Leonard Bernstein should consider this download.


Details:
This 62-minute CD contains the following solo piano pieces, written and performed by Seth Weinstein.

[1] CONVERSATIONS is a musical meeting between Marc Chagall and Elvis Presley. The piece is a synthesis of Russian-style classical themes, Jewish klezmer music, romantic ballads, rock, blues, and gospel.

[2]-[9] THE CHAGALL SUITE is an eight-movement piano suite inspired by eight different themes of Chagallian artwork:

VITEBSK takes us through a day in the life of Chagall's provincial Belarusian hometown.

THE BIBLE takes us through the Creation, winding up slowly and becoming more active until God rests from His work at the end.

THE CIRCUS is in a quick 7/8 meter, with episodes suggesting clumsy animals, graceful dancers, swift acrobats, and snake charmers.

LOVERS AND FLOWERS starts with an expanding chord, like the blossoming of a flower, which supports a tranquil melody and eventually gives way to a lovers' waltz.

THE PRINCE OF PEACE, JESUS, AND THE PROPHET OF PEACE, ISAIAH is dominated by a placid, consonant barcarolle, which quickens and intensifies, supporting a bright melody.

PARIS has a grand fanfare, repeated at intervals and interspersed with interludes suggesting stately architecture, amorous waltzers, and the city's frenetic pace.

NATURE is based on symmetry, and the movement's chord structure and melodies evoke symmetry and geometry.

ANGELS suggests some of the harmonic progressions of the earlier movements, and it becomes bright and bold before returning to the "sunrise" theme of the first movement.

Composer and pianist Seth Weinstein is a New York-based Harvard graduate who also wrote the music for the Off-Broadway musical "How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes." He has been the musical director of numerous regional productions of musicals and cabaret shows.

Both pieces were conceived by Chagall expert Vivian R. Jacobson. The CD cover drawing was done by Chagall in 1981.