Extant ii

Douce Mélancolie

French Suites 4, 5 & 6

French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: III. Sarabande (Original Version)

4th most listened Finnish pianist (Spotify 12/2023) releases solo piano album
from legendary Mons Records
”Intimate & emotional (…) pure sincerity”
— Active Light Records, Canada
”Soul’s melody hums, echoes of heart’s true song, harmony within.”
— Piano Haiku
Finland’s only Piano Balladist, Heikki Hallanoro, makes a strong melodic mark
with his sensitive and delicate piano pieces that are delivered with such a
tenderness and bold simplicity that it is not just beautiful but simply – shines
truth.
Heikki, once a promising astronomer who discovered the origins of Saturn’s
rings, a boy of an alcoholic mother who has no classical training, but who has
played his own songs on piano since a little boy and makes his living playing
live his ennobling and relaxing Piano Ballads, got immediately signed with
his first piano solo album by legendary jazz/classical record company Mons
Records, a label that has released albums from such artists as Clark Terry
(trumpetist of Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington), Manu Katché (drummer of
Sting, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell) and Bob Mintzer (saxophonist of Buddy
Rich, Jaco Pastorius, Tito Puente), among others.
Bon Voyage!
Soul Songs album comprises 8 felt piano pieces that unite minimalistic modern
classical idiom and Arvo Pärt kind of quietness and spirituality. Soul Songs are
not named but numbered (Soul Song No. 1, Soul Song No. 2, etc.), but they
paint vivid scenes. “My intension was to create safe and comforting space for
listener to embark on inner journey.” Heikki didn’t want to name the songs
and direct listeners impression any way since he knew from own experience
that same song can evoke different emotions and memories at different times.
“Songs are continuous and ever-evolving, and they work like magic, since so
are we.”
Old piano like mother elephant
On Soul Songs album Heikki plays over 100 years old piano. It has extremely
dark sound, behaves like a mother elephant, who remembers too many
graveyards. Recordings were engineered by the studio guru Pentti Amore
with 3 gold albums and a the most sold physical album in Finland 2020. Pentti
also mixed and mastered the album. “Presence of both of them, Piano and
Heikki, in this album is unbelievable. The setup is so sensitive – it captures all.”
— Pentti Amore

Soul Songs are Heikki Hallanoro’s life’s work
Soul Songs album series will continue. Soul Songs Vol. 2 is already recorded.
In Soul Songs album series the even albums (Soul Songs Vol. 2, Soul Songs
Vol. 4, etc.) are happy “spring/summer” albums and odd albums (Soul Songs,
Soul Songs Vol. 3, etc.) are more melancholic “winter” albums with darker hues in them.

Soul Song No. 6 - Heikki Hallanoro Repair

Nueva Vida

Kotoshi

Composer and pianist Alex Solely presents his new album.
"The Home Concert" is that kind of home — one you can return to anytime. You open the door, sit by the window, wrap yourself in a blanket and just… listen. There’s no stage — just a living room. No spotlights — only the soft glow of a desk lamp. No crowd — just a few close people. Alex plays a Yamaha digital piano. Beside him, a violin weaves its voice into the silence — gently, almost like a whisper. It’s a wordless dialogue, where every touch of the keys continues the conversation.

Douce Mélancolie

Martin La Pelle