Balm in Gilead: 12 Meditations for Piano

Description

WHERE ELSE CAN YOU HEAR a wonderfully creative, critically-acclaimed pianist playing IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING (the theme from SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE), inspirational melodies from around the world, songs of (musical theatre composers) STEPHEN SONDHEIM and JACQUES BREL, quotes of J.S. BACH and RAVEL, and more, all woven together on the same CD? Im blown away by this CD — beautifully conceived and stunningly performed — I dont know when Ive loved a solo piano album more!, raves BILL RUDMAN, nationally syndicated radio personality. BALM IN GILEAD: 12 MEDITATIONS FOR PIANO inspires a re-energizing calm in the midst of our busy days, and I PROMISE YOU WONT FEEL LIKE YOURE STUCK ON AN ELEVATOR, LISTENING TO MUSAK. The CD will remain fresh every time you listen to it. MORE ABOUT THE CD, from Marge Adler, pianist/arranger: Telling a new story without words is great fun. As an arranger and improviser, Im fascinated by ways that I can be inventive with sheet music, to make it say more. To choose the music for this CD, I opened up my whole library, to create musical bridges between styles, between old and new, sacred and secular. Youll hear the music to well-known songs and those lyrics may run through your mind; if youre a Musical Theatre or Classical music buff, youll hear some of those works done in new ways; and youll hear some music that I just discovered too. Back at the piano, I can change the chords underneath a melody to make it seem more magical. I imagine myself being an orchestra, and that gives me lots of colors to play with, through the whole range of the keyboard. I can expand on one songs message by connecting it with others in a medley. By combining music of different styles and traditions, I can say something to bring people together or I can go for some lighter comic relief. Sometimes I can put a quote from one piece of music on top of another. Think of STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER (parody lyric by Glazer) at the big moment when the BE KIND TO YOUR FINE-FEATHERED FRIENDS, FOR THAT DUCK MAY BE SOMEBODYS MOTHER melody is matched with the famous piccolo line bouncing up and down. Fireworks go off, players stand up, the big American flag is revealed. Well, no such pageantry when the music is calmer, but I became dangerous when I realized, in a performance, that I could improve on the stately Pachelbel canon by superimposing Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. (And impose does seem the right word.) Try it at home on your piano — it works! (WARNING: this is not generally welcomed by brides-to-be.) Its a wonderful moment for me when an arrangement — and a whole CD — take shape, like a writer says of a story that is somehow written by its principal characters. ABOUT Marge Adler, pianist/arranger —- Critics have called MARGE a treasure with at least three hands [a trait which amuses her audiences as well as her husband] and worth the price of admission all by her lonesome. Some days take her from writing horn charts for Motown bands to being featured as pianist/arranger/cabaret performer on public radio broadcasts. Classically trained, Marge is an Award-winning Music Director of hundreds of musical theatre and cabaret shows. When she served as Organist for the CLEVELAND INDIANS BASEBALL TEAM, she saw snow falling on the field, played Christmas carols and had 50,000 people singing; then she was interviewed on ESPN. There were days that season when on the freeway Marge