Anthem By Jeffrey Baker

 

Anthem

By

Jeffrey Baker

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

The realm of solo piano these days is vast, wide and deep, and to stand out a certain mood, a heartfelt presence and a performance that is as filled with not only technical brilliance, but one of passionate tones is a must, for me the compositional structure, minor refrains, colours and textures must be there too, here on Anthem composer Jeffrey Baker has achieved that and more, and with the talented pianist Frank Martin at the keys, literally anything is possible.

The flow and fluency of this arrangement is impressive, it has that processional anthem style, but also many rotating textures of tone and timbre that are both charming, but utterly encapsulating; the mid segment of this passion filled opus is deeply imploring and begs to be felt and listened to.

The elevation of pitch towards the latter half of the song gives the listener a mood of truthful intent and steadfast forward movement, the conclusion and eventual coda brings a gentle cooling down of the arrangement to an comforting sense of musical security, whilst deftly slowing the tempo to its tranquil finish.

A fine performance indeed by Martin, his ability to usher forth such an emotive power from Bakers outstanding composition is most certainly worth many listens. Anthem by Jeffrey Baker played by Frank Martin has to be a sure fire hit, and a piece that will have fans of the solo piano genre simply begging for more.