Unspoken Conversations By Barry De Groot

 

Unspoken Conversations

By

Barry DeGroot

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

So this beautiful Wednesday in early November would bring me a new name for me to enjoy music from, one Barry DeGroot and his creation entitled Unspoken Conversations, this would be a truly charming walk through the world of piano with added instrumentation, one that would grow a field of peace and tranquillity for me.

The opening piece is always ultra-important as it sets the scene for the entire album, and I am pleased to say with the piece Serenity he nails it to perfection, this soothing blend of piano with layered strings brings a mood of calmness like never before, and one that floats on the cadence of this mid-autumn day beautifully.

An opportunity now begs for more reflective times to be shared, and that challenge is taken and met by DeGroot on piano with such a tender touch on the offering Reminiscent, this is one of the most charming musical narratives from the album, evoking memories of something similar in my past, like a more ambient moment with David Lanz perhaps.

We can now move onto something different, something quite flourishing and insightful called Clever Conversation, and clever is most certainly the appropriate word to use, with melodies and counter melodies coming fluently, as both hands on the piano manifest a totally symbiotic relationship on a more upbeat styled narrative that could be easily used as a television theme.

There is a somewhat mysterious narrative that is built upon on the track Somewhere, yet even with the tickling of notes and keys there is a soothing texture to this most delightful of musical reposes to enjoy, one that uplifts, one that has a sense of realisation, and a more confident commanding coda.

The preceding track is so different to our next composition called While You're Here, the light symphonic gesture of the strings melts into the piece, gifting us a redolent moment of reflection and gratitude all rolled into one, and all of this can be found on the shortest track off the album at just barely over two minutes in duration.

There is a powerful sense of fulfilment about this next piece, which is our penultimate offering and called The Pendulum. The resonance of an ever onward marching segment of time is constantly there, but set wonderfully by a sumptuous juxtaposition of tone and timbre, as confidence grows from the ashes of a once painful moment perhaps.

Our final post of call is entitled All That Was. Here is a deeply felt conclusion to the album, one packed with emotive notes and tones, an expectation of clarity and a parity of forward critical thinking can be found here, on this last flourishing masterpiece that sums up the entire project so beautifully with its decisive coda.

Unspoken Conversations by Barry DeGroot is an exceptional piano based album that contains an added string base at times; here is an example of good, honest and heartfelt piano, and to be candid, I wish more piano based music was like this, full of tone and intent, full of emotional moods, but ready to manifest a meditative moment when pertinent, this is piano at its very best and as such I believe should do well on the charts for Unspoken Conversations by Barry DeGroot.