Life and Death (Reimagined) By Matias Bacoñsky

 

Life and Death (Reimagined)

By

Matias Bacoñsky

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

This musical journey of some 10 years with pianist Matias Bacoñsky started back in 2016, but has birthed a period of excellence in music for the artist. He brings us quality compositions, filled with passion and emotion for the willing listener in his unique story telling style, on his latest creation called Life and Death (Reimagined).

Following on from the New World album of ‘25, the artist gives us a 12 track release of passion and power on these reimagined offerings, the first of which is the emotive The Last Goodbye (Reimagined). As I have said many times the artist isn’t just a pianist and a composer, he is a compelling story writer, and this opening offering expands the original piano composition with orchestral arrangements, additional instruments, and a more cinematic sound, this track emphasises that feeling some of us have suffered, one that makes the piece feel less like anger and more like “I don't want this to end, but I know I can't stop it.”

Death of a Dream (Reimagined) is a deeper offering with a familiar melodic line that runs through the entire narrative. When one loses a loved one, it’s an unusual process and far too deep to cover on here, but the silence is palpable and the word death no longer just reflects a human condition, but to all parts of the aforementioned relationship. The repeated rhythm feels almost like something that cannot be escaped, in short the the energy of acceptance sinks in.

We now move onto the offering Contemplation (Reimagined). Strangely enough is actually a darker; the symphonic majesty is very pronounced here as well in a very fluent and moving opus. Then it came to me, I began to understand that this makes the track quieter psychologically, even if the music itself can still carry considerable darkness.

One of my favourites is up next and called Never Lose Hope (Reimagined), the lighter progressive notes here actually do portray hope, and that mindfulness of life still keeps moving forward, still keeps going on. This is a beautifully organic offering, one that grows like hope, the faster tempo but softer touch is beautifully performed by the artist, and that makes it emotionally different from the first three tracks, creating a fascinating symbiosis of emotional texture.

My Nightmare (Reimagined) reminds me of my time trying to deal with grief, the guilt and regret, and wishing things had been different, those moments of bad communication that could have had made things so different, but the same result is still here. This almost classical narrative from the artist is deep and dark, and is moody, and the question he is perhaps postulating through his performance may well be, that it is much more human to feel, hope isn't the absence of darkness, It's the decision not to surrender to the darkness.

At the midway track we find a slightly lighter refrain called Believe (Reimagined). The energy of hope combines with a new sparkle in the desire to once again move forward and not stagnate in woe, this is a lush uplifting performance from the artist that is incredibly empowering, the ethereal vocals support the piece beautifully and it is as if you are finally saying. “I don't know that everything will be fine, but I choose not to stop believing.”

So into the second half of the album we go with a more spacious opus called Into the Light (Reimagined), there is a latent urgency in this piece that is deeply exciting, it is as if the performance is excited about the new change ahead, the piano of the composer is once again fluent and smooth. The earlier piano-centred material represents the inner person. The larger orchestral world can represent the world opening up around them as the emotional space gets larger; the progression of the piano in this work is sublime.

The level and depth of this next moving offering is felt at its optimum level and entitled Stay With Me (Reimagined). There is a sense of desperation and frailness in this composition, one that slowly gains strength and confidence during the arrangement, but the composer makes an interesting juxtaposition of light and shade here that is incredibly moving. There's a subtle vulnerability in saying “stay with me.” And that’s what makes this very track so palpable.

Painful Memories (Reimagined) is a similar theme as the last track, where enough time hasn’t passed enough for letting go is concerned, one can still be haunted by memory, no matter how distorted, because now those memories have had the luxury of hindsight. Earlier, the character desperately wanted to move into the light, now they've discovered something, you don't leave the darkness completely behind, you take parts of it with you.

The deeper weave of the album is reached and the darkened alleyways of reflection are upon us as a demand is made on the piece Remember Me (Reimagined). The symbiosis and arrangement of piano and orchestration is strong and fluent in the compositional structure. Indeed there is a slight unrealistic moment of hope here. The orchestral segment can suggest the continuity of that memory, perhaps something larger that survives beyond the immediate moment, yet the coda tells the absolute truth in its quietness and delicate conclusion.

The penultimate piece is called Without You (Reimagined), once more the struggle for sanity continues, a new beginning has started regardless of memory and reflection, a time without the other person this time around, there is a dramatic phrasing here that manifests an urgency of embracing the future and the reluctance to fully let go, that expansion can be understood as making the emptiness itself feel larger, the piano represents the person experiencing the absence, the surrounding orchestral space can represent the world continuing around them, it’s a very human struggle indeed from one of the most emotive offerings from the release.

The most dynamic piece from the album is the concluding tale called This Is Not the End (Reimagined). Again the sheer depth of this piece is vast, deep and dark, but as the piano weaves its tale certain energies of defiance can be found hiding in the dark shadows of the mind. At the beginning, the protagonist is defined by what they've lost, by the end they're defined by what they've learned from the loss, again a powerful juxtaposition of emotions.

Life and Death (Reimagined) by Matias Bacoñsky is a roundup of a tale of loss and the struggle to overcome grief, the key to this as I have found in my life comes to one word and one word only, time. Here the composer draws 12 narratives and creates a rolling and deeply personal reflective story, one that many of us have had to struggle with from time to time in our lives. Here Matias tackles a difficult subject for us all, and succeeds in pulling off a cathartic journey with Life and Death (Reimagined) by Matias Bacoñsky.