t h e  m u s i c  o f  P a u l  H a l l e y
new music that's already contemporary

 


P e l a g o s  M u s i c
 recordings 
music publishing
arts management

homepage sheet music recordings schedule artist bios commissions bookings licensing the story order info contact
  Recording  • Pianosong     Solo Piano Anthems  

"Halley is a piano/organ virtuoso, well schooled in jazz and classical music. He is able to seamlessly merge the exhilaration of music spontaneously improvised... with the aesthetic sense of carefully wrought form and structure. Halley has a strong sense of melody and harmony, a boundless range of technique and an irresistibly affirmative point of view."                                     
– Lee Underwood, 'Pulse!'

"The melodies he [Paul Halley] wrote for his solo piano/pipe organ LP, Pianosong, are so tuneful Barry Manilow would become an axe murderer just for the chance to say ‘I wrote them’. "
– Cincinnati Enquirer  


 Pianosong
Paul Halley
Piano and Pipe Organ

Paul Halley rich, often dreamy and meditative, solo piano improvisations recorded at The Cathedral of St. John The Divine, New York.

This recording no longer available for purchase.
Recording and tracks may be heard on Spotify and other online platforms.
 

Tracks
 Sound clips below
Total Album Time 57:34

All compositions are by Paul Halley
© Back Alley Music (ASCAP)

1. ◙♫
Pianosong
PEL4001 Pianosong
for solo piano
with optional organ

2. ◙♫
Kites In The Wind

3. ◙♫
September Nocture

4. ◙♫
Meadows of Loose Horses

5. ◙♫
Moons of Jupiter

6. ◙♫
Fisherman

7. ◙♫
St. Leonid

8. ◙♫
The Road Taken

9. ◙♫
Within The Mind Of Thomas

10. ◙♫
Anthem
PEL4002 Anthem
for solo piano with optional organ
Theme at the Seoul Olypmics
All compositions are
by Paul Halley
© Back Alley Music
(ASCAP)
Administered by
Pelagos Incorporated


Items with catalogue numbers
are linked to music available
on this site. Click on link.








 


 Recordings
 CLICK
for recordings

 Sheet Music
 CLICK
for sheet music
 

Description
 Paul Halley's rich and varied solo piano improvisations, augmented on three cuts by the sonorous sounds of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine's pipe organ, inspire moods and imagery that are evocative, engaging, and affirming. Opening with the elegantly melodic ballad 'Pianosong', Halley traverses a sonic landscape that includes the breeziness of 'Kites In The Wind', the strange lyricism of 'Meadows of Loose Horses', the poignancy of things remembered in 'September Nocturne', the tender tragedy of 'St. Leonid', and the easy movement of 'The Road Taken', ultimately arriving at the majestic and broadly heroic  'Anthem',  chosen as the theme for the Olympic Games at Seoul.

  
 



Reviews

from The Washington Post

 Halley’s mellifluous tone and subtle harmonic shifts sent many in the audience home in a state of musical rapture.
(Concert review)

from The Ottawa Citizen

"This is the music of warmth, serenity and great charm... Free-flowing, but thoughtful improvisations on lyrical, original themes"

from Amazon Reviews
"Paul Halley has two major feathers in his cap. The first is ove a decade as the music director for The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. As one would expect from the world's largest gothic cathedral, the requirements for the position are exhaustive. Halley was the driving factor for broadening the church's music program from staunchly classical to include contemporary works.

Halley's second credential is his membership in The Paul Winter Consort for the next 18 years. Winter's standards are notoriously high, with a heavy emphasis on both teamwork and improvisation, and Halley fit right in. Pianosong is from early in that period (1986) - an album by an already well-established artist who clearly demonstrated his capabilities as both an instrumentalist and a composer.

Halley's music (on this album) is on the soft jazz side of new age. These pieces are highly melodic - songs written for the piano. Technical proficiency is certainly not absent, but it isn't the core focus. He stays within warm tonalities making this a comfortable album that immediately fits like an old, well-made shoe. This makes the album a great introduction to the genre, something that bears up under the wear and tear of repeated listening."
- Mark Ruby





CREDITS

Artist
 Paul Halley

piano
pipe organ


Recording/Production


Russ Landau and Chris Brown, Recording Engineers

Grand piano and pipe organ recorded at The Cathedral of St. John The Divine, New York,1986

All Rights Reserved
 Made in USA




Paul Halley c. 1986

 

  
  Recording  • Pianosong