Courage To Sail By Alan Hanslik

 

Courage To Sail

By

Alan Hanslik

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

One of the most descriptive forms of music can be found way back in the annals of time, and filed under the category of Classical, I’m lucky enough to present a show on it, so I am constantly reminded of the great works, and constantly surprised by the new efforts and arrangements, much like this brand new creation, by artist and composer Alan Hanslik.

Courage to Sail is a powerful and poignant look at casting yourself free from the docks of a harbour, and setting sail on uncharted oceans, perhaps as far back as the 17^th or 18^th centuries, each journey was a walk into a dark room of the unknown, when sailors would literally take their lives into their own hands, and their souls into good graces of mother ocean.

Here Hanslik creates something very proud and almost regal on this 4 piece work, with the opening composition, Setting Forth, being one of the most powerful of them all, an arrangement of intent, packed with stiff strong jaws of determination and courage, one must also applaud the clever emotional strings within this piece, ones that at times created a similar energy to one of my favourite composers, Vaughn Williams, a great start indeed.

The journey continues onward and we move to a creation entitled Favorable Winds. Hanslik is a thoughtful composer no doubt, and within this brave arrangement he literally manifests a sense of great movement and speed; one can with ease see our brave ship cutting through the waves and out into the open seas with ease, the allegro styled manifestation is crafted superbly.

This is a defining moment for Hanslik’s work as we reach the third quarter of our album, and the dramatic flavours of the piece Loneliness & Splendor are a total gift of musical class. The intensity of this piece is immense, and has distinct elements of a forte at times, but one that remains very much part of this 4 part symphony of purposeful intent.

The concluding arrangement is slowed as we enter Land Fall, our journey however long has been a success, and humanity is but a breath away, this is a sublime compositional creation by Alan Hanslik, here he comes into his own as a composer, and brings to the table a wonderful cinematic feel and expression, this is both dramatic and moving, an astute way with which to end the symphony, with a crescendo manifesting its glourious energy, before the final coda.

Courage To Sail by Alan Hanslik has been a most enjoyable voyage through the classical music genre, without doubt a wonderfully created soundtrack, and a four part symphony of great texture, colour, movement and passion. Hanslik more known for his work as an electronic musician has certainly crossed the so called Rubicon here, and as such, into a whole new realm of musical possibilities and potentially limitless opportunities.