Pianosong CD

the works of Paul Halley
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Pianosong CD

Pianosong

Paul Halley

Piano
Pipe Organ

Solo piano improvisations
with organ.
Recorded in
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Catalogue No. LM81515 $16.98

To listen to sound clips, see track list below.

"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

TRACKS

Windows Media Player

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Total Album Time 57:34

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

2. ◙♫
Kites in the Wind

3. ◙♫
September
Nocturne

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)
for solo piano
with optional organ

Items with catalogue numbers indicate that published octavos are available.

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

Catalogue No. LM81515 $16.98

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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 Tower Records Pulse!

"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

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 Cincinnati Enquirer

“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.’

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 over 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

Photo of Paul Halley from original 1986 LP

CREDITS

Artist
Paul Halley

piano
pipe organ

Production
Produced by Paul Winter and Russ Landau