Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.820793
Composed by Isadar. 20th Century,Concert,Contemporary,Jazz,New Age. Score. 14 pages. Mainya Music Publishing (BMI) #6069287. Published by Mainya Music Publishing (BMI) (A0.820793).
Contains:"Active Imagination"
- taken from the Isadar solo piano collections, "Active Imagination / Reconstructed" (also available on SMP)
Sounds like: Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, Liz Story, George Winston, early Windham Hill solo piano artists
Transcribed by: David Shenton (
https://www.shentonmusic.com/ ) verbatim to the sound recording
Note: A slightly different version of this composition is also heard on the Isadar album, "Reconstructed" (Produced by Will Ackerman)
Album & Songbook Review by: Kathy Parsons
I love this CD! It constantly amazes me how many outstanding composer/pianists there are out there - especially in relation to the few who are highly (commercially) successful within this broad genre. I would say that Active Imagination definitely belongs near the top of the heap. Isadar’s style is original, and his pianism is excellent. He lists his inspirations as Liz Story, Keith Jarrett, and Bill Evans, and I can hear traces of all three in his playing, but find his composing and playing styles to be uniquely his own.
The first three tracks are lively and upbeat ("Active Imagination", "Throwing the Dice", and "Where the Wild Things Are") with an easy, jazzy, improvised feel. The meter changes are fascinating, and the bluesy beat on "Wild Things" is infectious.
From there, the mood seems to gradually darken and become more introspective. "Waiting" is a beautiful, flowing mood piece full of questions and a lovely melody line. Isadar’s cover of Liz Story’s "Wedding Rain" is wonderful - this is a piece I often work on with my advanced students, and everything about Isadar’s interpretation of the piece seems right without being a carbon-copy of Liz’s recording.
"Feu Follet (the ‘spook’ light’)" has a nice, easy flow with a strong sense of mystery; it also has an unusual rhythm that lightens the mood and adds a bounce. "Uncertainty" is cooler and more aloof, but gorgeous in its flowing introspection - that it ends with a major chord, feels like the soul-searching has had positive results. "Love Chaconne" is the closing track, and is the longest and most abstract piece on the CD. The left hand plays a repeated pattern while the right hand goes off in several different directions (one of the primary characteristics of a "chaconne"). Beautiful in its simplicity, this is the only track that seems to contain an element of pain and sorrow, but never dissolves into melodrama.
Active Imagination is excellent from start to finish and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes solo piano with substance and complexity, but is still accessible, melodic, and rhythmic. Bravo amundo!
Active Imagination Sheet Music Collection is the companion songbook to Isadar’s 1999 CD release, Active Imagination. The CD was one of my favorites for the year when I reviewed it for the print version of "Wind and Wire" magazine, so I was really looking forward to the sheet music! Transcribed note-for-note by David Shenton of ShentonMusic.com (I proofed about half of the book, so I can attest to how accurate it is!), it is up to you to make the music sound as close to the CD as you want or to interpret the music and make your own statements with it.
One thing that really stands out about this collection
About Digital Downloads
Digital Downloads are downloadable sheet music files that can be viewed directly on your computer, tablet or mobile device. Once you download your digital sheet music, you can view and print it at home, school, or anywhere you want to make music, and you don’t have to be connected to the internet. Just purchase, download and play!
PLEASE NOTE: Your Digital Download will have a watermark at the bottom of each page that will include your name, purchase date and number of copies purchased. You are only authorized to print the number of copies that you have purchased. You may not digitally distribute or print more copies than purchased for use (i.e., you may not print or digitally distribute individual copies to friends or students).
Share