Muse of Winter By

 

Muse of Winter

By

James Michael Stevens

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

There can be no pianist around today that is as prolific as James Michael Stevens, I have an abundance of albums by the artist, but time after time and with each passing release, that astounding quality is always there. And this stunning production of brilliance we see here on this latest topical release called Muse of Winter, emphasizes that statement.

Even here in Cyprus we are having our coldest winter since our arrival in over 10 years, so this winter muse is in full operating mode indeed, and tracks like Arioso Semplice ease us into the project. In practice, it tells the performer to play in a gentle, flowing, expressive way, without too much ornamentation or dramatic emphasis, whilst keeping the phrasing natural and straightforward, this Stevens does with his usual skillset.

The more dramatic Blue Falls is now upon us, the sensitive touch ushers forth images of a chilling yet beautiful landscape, one emphasised by the artists colourful performance on piano, whist on tracks like Forever Sunset a shorter form is explored, with all the delicate essences of the fading light of a January evening.

The mastery of piano performances can be found on show here on Peaceful It Flows, the smooth transitions from notes to chords is manifested with a perfect touch and tempo, whilst on Reflection at Winter Lake, one of my favourite compositions can be found, there is something so mournful about this track that makes it stand out, yet even then the phrasing of Stevens performance lifts it up, to turn out a somewhat tranquil and peace filled narrative at its conclusion.

Silence in the Moonlight is another colourful creation that literally gleams across the room, begging to be played, again Stevens manifests an interesting juxtaposition of tonal delights, by adding a little empathic energy into the song, creating a moody piece that literally seems to slow down to give the listener more space.

We move with joy into the second half of the album, to a piece entitled Snowflakes in the Night, there is a wonderful symbiotic sense being played out here with repeating motifs talking to each other, a gentle yet nurturing musical narrative indeed.

On The Gentle Snow we have a track that for me brings back memories of childhood and days of winters past, there is a charming ladder of tone that Stevens explores here that illustrates the gentleness of the snow as it falls, sadly the likely hood of me seeing snow again is remote, the only location here in my country that one might see it, is on our Troodos mountain range, and Mrs S, would not allow me to take her on that trip if I begged her, so thanks you James for taking me vicariously on a snowy journey through this beautiful piece.

Then Came a Swan is a stunning reverie, swans are indeed a dichotomy, a veritable contradiction of clumsiness out of water, and utter beauty in it. Here through this sparkling presentation, the artists bring us the latter, whilst on Water Lilies a more lyrical narrative is explored, a composition of great quality and depth, almost like it was being musically manifested by the great Claude Monet himself, who in his lifetime produced over 250 paintings about Water Lilies.

The penultimate piece is entitled Winter Sky, here the artist treats the listener to one of the most reflective pieces of his career, with a deep and searching offering that builds upon a solid minor foundation, to exemplify such a chilling vista.

The concluding musical manifestation is Winter Soliloquy, again the deeper notes and darker chords start the offering. In music, a soliloquy means a solo passage that sounds like a performer is “thinking out loud.” Here to end the album, James Michael Stevens concludes it with a brilliant textured piano based musing of thoughts, and sums up the entire project brilliantly whilst doing so.

Muse of winter by James Michael Stevens is a far deeper and more reflective album than you might expect from the composer, but given the subject matter you would expect that. Here the exploratory nature highlights the realities and beauties of this most chilling season. This is classic Stevens, an artist who will never let his fans down, a must buy release indeed, and certainly and one that is likely to rise high in the charts, for Muse of Winter by James Michael Stevens.