Reflections of Japan By Christine Brown

 

Reflections of Japan

By

Christine Brown

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

I have been following the music of Christine Brown for an amazing 15 years now, since the release of her album The Wishing Well back in 2011. However I must say that this locational based album truly captivated me to the extent that I rate this to be her best work thus far.

The opening piece is called Whispering Cherry Blossoms, like the entire album this piece is more about atmosphere and emotional texture, and her soft yet breeze blown piano narrative is a rhythmic delight to enjoy, its rich texture and tonal delights are a total pleasure to bathe within.

This is a 13 track collection of some of the finest examples of solo piano music around, offerings like the crisp yet melodic Echoes of Kyoto have a sway about them that is absolutely addictive and moving. Roots and Wings is another slice of solo magic that has a memorable feel to its energy, and again a sway to its mood that makes the piece literally palpable.

One can safely enjoy this album with the certainty that instrumental solo piano is safe and in the hands of some great artists, and Christine Brown is a leading light in this strange 21^st century, pieces like the charming Garden Waltz doesn’t just have that mood of the dance, but a spring texture to the flowing tapestry that emanates from the instrumentation.

There is always a great opportunity to manifest some fantastic moments of melancholia when the subject matter of a musical piece has rain in the title, Sakura Rain offers up that moment and it is grasped by some of the most passionate of performances by the artist.

There are also pristine moments of great beauty on the album too, like the charming and incredibly sweet opus of Maiko Dance, however my favourite track from the entire release would be the utterly beautiful Soul of the Keys, this heart rendering song, has so many textures in it, it is an utter delight to just sit within, moments of imploring tonal cries, segments of quietude, and a soft and melancholic melody made this for me the stand out composition from the album.

Shorter narratives like Bamboo Breeze and Quiet Rituals gift the listener almost cinematic black and white movie energy to the proceedings, with some outstanding performances on both by Brown, at times almost touching the hem of the classical piano in the structure thus created.

Beneath Fuji's Gaze is another memorable piece that explores a locational narrative, a slow melodic movement and a reflective mood can be found here, whilst on Ancient Reflections a lighter feel can be heard and touched, and a defined eastern motif heard within the arrangement, one that whilst subtle adds to the overall flavourer of the track.

The penultimate piece reminds me of my home in Cyprus and our range of monoliths in the distance behind my location, and called Mountains in the Mist, this is an explorative offering that I adored, and was another one of my personal favourites, the dramatic flow here was perfect and not too overwhelming, but enough to allow one to get caught up in the moment, mountains always do that to me, I have literally just got back from the Carpathian Mountains in Romania, and I hear and feel music, this is exactly what Christine is giving us all here, and it is so empowering and inspiring.

The concluding tale is called Path of Tranquillity and is simply the most idyllic offering with which to finish the album with, a calm repose, and a gentle look over the shoulder at the journey thus travelled. Reflections of Japan by Christine Brown is in my view the artist’s best work so far, this is the most melodic album I have heard from her, every single track is strong with colours and textures, this is a tale well told by one of the finest female pianist alive today, as such this has to be a top ten album with absolute ease.