Big Shadows written for Piano Day 2023
inspired by "Go to the Limits of Your Longing" by Rainier Maria Rilke
read the poem here:  https://www.jeffchipman.com/allposts/2023/3/29/big-shadows 
www.jeffchipman.com

Big Shadows

Oh WOW! Over 2000 plays of this very personal track. To think I was hesitant to even post it... Thank you so much! ❤️

In our lives, we are granted the opportunity to witness the departure of our loved ones. Some depart through doors, never to return, yet still exist somewhere. Others leave suddenly, unexpectedly. Yet some depart when we are somewhat prepared, for their age predisposes them to it. However, there are also departures more challenging... when we observe the tree of the mind of a beloved, from which memories' leaves fall, and even the freshest, youngest cannot hold on to it. We cannot help, we can only watch how they fall...

Composing this little piece was very personal. It was combined with the realization of a fact from my immediate surroundings. I left all imperfections of my playing because of how I felt at that moment. It wasn't an improvisation, it was an interpretation of a theme that I've developed few minutes earlier. All done on Autograph Grand from Spitfire LABS free libraries collection @spitfire-labs
https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/packs/autograph-grand

Cover picture by A.I. Dall-E (through Microsoft Copilot)

The Last Falling Leaf

Free Download / Buy

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/5FsPCoQ2Y9Z0OuG5kWDxDs?si=c03ccc558021498a
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUxKzif8IKI
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/konrad-spittelberg/yearning

Yearning. The pain when you long for something and yet can't get it. When periods of depression and self-immersion are interrupted by outbursts of hearfelt desire and longing, only to collapse into themselves again. And yet, excruciating as this bittersweet state of mind is, the heart nevertheless seems to also derive pleasure from it.

Compositionwise: 
The track is of the form Intro (@0:00) - Main1 (@0:33) - Main2 (@1:29) - Diversion (@2:19) - Main3(@2:53) - Outro (@3:17)
Overall, the track lives from its sequence of low-energy parts and muffled outbursts. Over time, the track increases in intensity, in two ways: First, its speed increases from the Intro in the Mid 60s to the Low 70s lateron. Moreoever, the melodical intensity of the variations gets increasingly dense (see below) 

The track starts with a low-paced introspect Intro where the left melody line goes up and the right hand down. This contraction in the used space of tones resembles the seclusion of the proponent of our story. The desparation is underlined by sudden crescendos and abrupt falling back into pian(issim)o. This effect is held up throughout the remainder of the track. The left hand in the Intro follows a low-paced half note beat. The right hand first introduces the lead theme that is later varied in the parts (M, M', M'') but then modulates in a unique way that is not repeated throughout the track again.
@ 0:33, the Intro is over and the first of the main parts, Main1, starts. The left hand increases its intensity from here on throughout the track by switching to quarters instead of halfs. The lead theme is modulated with more energy (and will be ever more intense in the later variations of Main). After that, the track goes @0:57 into a series of outbursts and resignations. This series is repeated in Main2 @1:57 in more intensity and a chord inversion higher.
The Diversion is characterised by chord inversions that gently fall down, just like rain that pours down that window that our protagonist stares through. And then reaches the biggest outburst of the whole track.
Finally, after Main3, which includes the most intense version of the lead theme and harmonically altered variation, the piece finishes with a questioning yet pieceful end.

In mastering the piece, after MIDI editing, one of the challenges was to find the right balance between the plaintive metallic overtone-rich outbursts versus a rich and full sound for the resignative parts. I chose the Pianoteq Warm Peterov Mistral (with some minor tweaks) as the piano. On this, I used three basic Cubase-inate effects: (1) some light-touch EQ (a scaled-downversion of Basic Piano), (2) compression (Ratio of 1.8) and (3) Reverb (the Cubase-equivalent of the Goldener Musikvereinssaal in Vienna of course :-)). The mix has been balanced at -1db to allow enough headroom for the streaming services' normalization magic to happen ;-).

Yearning (Piano Miniature)

Life of Riley

Alpha Mound is back with a new release: this time an 11 minute banger! It's a live recording with no overdubs. You can watch him do his magic on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIiiQXjvoSQ

Alpha Mound is the recording project of Joakim Westlund, who has  released many albums, EPs and collaborations since 2012. His style is focused in the ambient genre and sometimes mixed into more deep going indie-electronica, techno and kraut sounds. The sound design is always a main feature where you can find complex melodies alongside slow drones and spare rhythms.

www.stalverk.se
https://alphamound.bandcamp.com/

Alpha Mound - Good Luck Sky

“From Here to Eternity” is an emotional and cinematic instrumental piece with lush strings and woodwinds to evoke a deep sense of reflection and longing. Ideal for moments of introspection, storytelling, or visual journeys.
🎧 https://hypeddit.com/9f7767

From Here to Eternity

Today we welcome Makoto Sawai, a Japanese pianist and composer, to the ad21 family with his beautiful single “Deep Love”. Performed on his own acoustic piano, Deep Love is a gently hypnotic piece that unfolds with a quiet devotion. Its nostalgic and melancholic tones invite listeners to pause, breathe, and journey inward, or perhaps to a distant memory. Let yourself be carried away by this serene and heartfelt composition, now available on all streaming platforms.

Deep Love

Lisren

A war has erupted— right here, in my homeland, in this Middle East tangled in fear and unrest. Homes are reduced to rubble. Tiny angels drifted off to sleep and never woke again.

How did we become this cruel? How did indifference root so deep in the heart of humanity? What twisted belief convinces a so-called “human” to murder thousands of children, to wipe out countless innocent lives?

No, the world is not a beautiful place. Ask the children of Gaza. No, the world is not safe. Ask the merciless soldiers clutching nuclear arms. Though beware—their answers are lies.

And in the silence that follows the explosions, only the piano remains. A fragile refuge in an age of fire.

ANGELS OF THE NIGHT - KIANOUSH KOUROSHI

My dear friend and brilliant composer, Frank Mehl,  gave it the title "Elegy", because of its serious and mournful reflection of loss... not just loss of life but of any loss.  The opening of the piece is mournful with a sense of impending doom, but in the end I added a very hopeful melody of deep feelings and gratitude.  A full circle of life.  Thank you for listening!
Jennifer L. Jones
Music Dreams Productions
July 2025

Elegy

“Christ as Gardener…patiently cultivates the soil, clearing weeds, nourishing roots, and encouraging growth. He knows what needs pruning; nurturing—when to let things lie fallow so deeper growth can occur. He does not force, but gently coaxes life from barren places, bringing new shoots out of brokenness. If we allow him to work within us, Christ will shape us with loving care, helping our hearts to flourish with the fruits of grace, compassion, and faith. Under his tender guidance, even the most neglected corners of our inner lives can blossom again.” - Fr Patrick van der Vorst

New Growth

Classical Guitar: gaspar monterde
Artwork by Pere Vilardebó
Label: Florecilla Records

breathe

Composer & music producer of electronic, ambient, piano, EDM, and Jazz amalgamations. Music as spiritual gateway.

New Growth

GMR

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