Music: The Lark
Composer: Mikhail Glinka, arr. Mily Balakirev
Artist: Tara Kamangar, piano
Album: East of Melancholy
Label: Delos Productions DE 3471
Street Date: June 10, 2014

Pre-Order on iTunes: http://bit.ly/KamangariTunes
Pre-Order on Amazon MP3: http://amzn.to/1myoyyj
Pre-Order on ArkivMusic: http://bit.ly/MelancholyArkiv

“The East was an Aladdin’s cave from which Russia drew endlessly… other melodies, other harmonies, a mixture of reserve and expansiveness. It was a land of dreams.” –Music Producer Marina Ilanova

Russia’s centuries-old geographic proximity to Muslim regions – historically regarded as part of the “orient” – has resulted in considerable cultural and artistic crossfertilization, particularly in the realm of music. Most Russian composers during (and since) the Romantic era have thus incorporated elements of what one could call “oriental exoticism” into their compositions. Captivating pianist Tara Kamangar – an American of Iranian descent – has made it her musical mission to explore such musical connections, specifically as they apply to the traditions of Iran and Russia.

In this, Tara’s first album for Delos, we hear illustrative examples in works by Glinka, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Khachaturian. But her emphasis here is on the music of two fascinating 20th-Century Iranian composers whose work remains virtually unknown in the West: Aminollah Hossein and Loris Tjeknavorian. Tara’s virtuosity and flair for the musical traditions of her Iranian forbears combine to bring these works to thrilling and idiomatically true life.

Tara Kamangar: East of Melancholy — The Lark

Pari

Bach Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1042: II. Adagio

(پیمان یزدانیان - شب های روشن (برداشت دوم

This piece is recorded by my cellphone in a piano room and was directly recorded to SoundCloud. This is NOT the finalized recording and I will post the fully recorded piece as soon as I can. Leave your comments below. Hope you enjoy.

Farewell [Recorded directly to SoundCloud]

Close To My Heart

Dans

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to Lucid Breathing!

The vibe of this album is peaceful and tranquil and it is best listened to in quiet contemplation and in full awareness of the breath.

Blaise Pascal once said, “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

As we reach the midpoint of 2020 and see the world around us seemingly in such turmoil, one of the goals of this album is to assist the listener in being present with themselves - to help YOU sit quietly in a room alone. Hopefully this sitting will allow the listener to realize and relax into the idea that they are the eye of the storm - one can remain calm and centered in the turmoil and thus create action from a position of clarity, centeredness, and balance.

Lucid Breathing came about during the first month of quarantine almost by accident. One evening I was sitting at home a bit bored - I’d played through enough video games and watched enough movies for the week - so I decided to look back through old audio recordings. 

I soon discovered a folder of solo piano recordings going back over three years and I started to listen. Mixed in a number of different Logic sessions I found enough tracks to make up an album, and thus the idea for Lucid Breathing was formed.

Some of the songs had come about very quickly - some songs took over 3 years to really blossom. Specifically, I had recorded between 30 and 40 different versions of Etude in Em and Yes But This Yes But That, feeling satisfied only with the exact versions that ended up on the album. Additionally, each of these 30 to 40 versions were slightly different - I never played those songs the same way twice. This made it very interesting to go back and listen and find versions that really worked.

I hope you enjoy the album and are able to find some time to to sit quietly in a room by yourself and feel satisfied. I wish you balance and clarity moving forward and I hope that this album can provide some assistance in your journey through this life.

Much love,

Bill Prokopow
June 13th, 2020

Lucid Breathing

To Let It Go

Minismus is a creator of epic orchestral soundscapes designed for film and TV placements, but that could serve on their own as masterpieces in the classical genre. 
Pulling from the styles of Max Richter, Johann Johannsonn, Philip Glass, Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds, Minismus carefully constructs strings, brass, woodwinds and felt piano into memorable works of art. 
Minismus' debut album 'FILM' was released June 21, 2019 on all digital platforms. 
Minismus creates exclusively for the new independent label Kwai Music, which focuses on post-minimalistic forms of music in orchestral, ambient and downtempo genres.

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EdEOQhplHIlqx5WVx9uBl
Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/minismus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minismus/

Minismus - Skekzi

Mahler - Symphony No. 5 In C - Sharp Minor

Past, Present Continues

Aquarium (Iraj Ghaderi), Pt. 1 ~ Karen Homayounfar

وَبَقِيَ الحَذْرُ وَالخَوْفُ رَفِيقانْيَ دَائِمَاً،وَبَقِيتْ ذِكْرَيَاتي...وَظَلَّ حَنِينِيَّ إِلَيَ أَرْض الخَوفِ

Mahler - Symphony No. 5 In C - Sharp Minor

Peter Nader II ®