Seabourne: Steps, Vol. 5: 16 Scenes Before A Cruci

Viale, Alessandro

The fifth volume of Seabourne's highly acclaimed Steps series is perhaps the composer's "Winterreise". Starting from the Passiontide paintings of Caravaggio, it is music of staggering power and intensity, praised richly by Musical Opinion and The Classical Reviewer. Alessandro Viale's interpretation is monumental and compelling. Begun in 2001, the Steps series now runs to five volumes and is a project which the composer, by his own admission, anticipates running through his life, as a kind of “companion.” It is significant in Seabourne’s oeuvre not only for its scale, but because piano music was the medium which drew Seabourne back into composer after a 12-year silence. In terms of style, all the works in the volumes are extremely varied and idiosyncratic, with much rhythmic and melodic interest, often very lyrical though not necessarily “tuneful.” Seabourne employs a colorful and piquant harmonic palette which recalls Debussy, Janacek and Messiaen, while the rhythmic vitality of the music is akin to Prokofiev; indeed the brevity and aphoristic nature of the pieces aligns them with Prokofiev’s “Visions Fugitives” and “Sarcasms.” The works are challenging, and probably best tackled by the advanced pianist who enjoys such technical challenges as varied time signatures, polyrhythms, myriad articulation, filigree textures and one with the requisite artistic sensitivity and imagination to bring musical color and invention to the music.

Price: $27.98

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