Juan Mar�a Solare: Numbered Places (eleven piano pieces)



01 - One Way Flight to... (2:50)

02 - Twopenny Loaf [USA] (3:45)

03 - Three Bridges [UK] (2:25)

04 - Four Oaks [USA] (3:00)

05 - Five Pointz [NYC] (3:45)

06 - Six Mile Bottom [UK] (2:40)

07 - Seven Kings [UK] (5:10)

08 - Eight Streets [USA] (5:55)

09 - Nine Elms [UK] (2:50)

10 - Ten Ten Road [NC, USA] (3:25)

11 - Eleven Lands [UK] (3:30)



Totaltime: 39:15

Numbered Places * piano * music by Juan Mar�a Solare



The cycle Numbered Places startsfrom a simple idea: the piece nr. 1 would have a title that begins with theword One, the piece nr. 2 a titlethat begins with the word Two and soon up to an arbitrary number (in this case, eleven).



For everything to have more cohesion, English names of different places orregions in either USA or (mainly) UK were used.



In its own way, Numbered Placesis therefore a conceptual album - alreadyfrom the point of view of titles.



Also musically, this world of sound has cohesion: instrumental piano music,neoclassical aesthetics (a somewhat broad concept that encompasses composerssuch as Erik Satie or Ludovico Einaudi), a certain simplicity in its surface.



Let us briefly comment each of the titles:



- One WayFlight to ...: The imaginary journey starts here. Each person will completethe sentence with the destiny of their choice.

- TwopennyLoaf: This is a neighborhood (and geographically a cape) in the city ofGloucester, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA. It is believed to have gotten itsname because it is shaped like a (bread) loaf that at the time cost twopennies.

- ThreeBridges: It is a city somewhere between London and Brighton, and a nodalpoint where trains typically split. Musically, the most minimalistic of all thecycle.

- Four Oaks:There are numerous places so named, both in England and the US, and possibly inother countries. I can imagine that there were actually four oak trees planted near.

- FivePointz: Neighborhood in Queens, New York. A graffiti mecca that wasdemolished in 2014 to build expensive buildings. And yes, it is spelled with zin this case.

- Six MileBottom: Is a hamlet near Cambridge in England. The hamlet derives its namefrom its distance from the start of Newmarket Racecourse and because it lies ina valley bottom. There is no public transport. The old train station, closed in1967 for lack of use, is now a private residence.

- SevenKings: It is a neighborhood in Ilford, East London. The earliest recordeduse of the name is as Sevekyngg or Sevekyngges in 1285, possibly meaning'settlement of the family or followers of a man called Seofoca'

- EightStreets: it is a (very sought-after) neighborhood located in the heart ofthe historic South End of the city of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

- Nine Elms:a district of South West London. Nine Elms Lane was named around the year 1645,from a row of elm trees bordering the road.

- Ten TenRoad: it is a place -actually the main road- in the town of Apex, NorthCarolina, USA.

- ElevenLands: this place is mentioned in an old legal report from around 1782 asexisting in North London ("a place called Eleven Lands, containing fiveacres of arable, formerly Cosby's, beonging to a farm in the said parish ofBletcheley...", in " Acollection of the Reports of Cases, the Statutes, and Ecclesiastical Laws,relating to Tithes", volume 3). It has certainly changed its name.Musically, this last piece has a certain tango aura.





Why eleven pieces and not more? The truth is that - incredibly as it mayseem - I didn't find any place called "Twelve" something. Yes thereare such names in other languages, but I wanted to keep some consistency. Thereare also pubs or bars called Twelvewhatever, but since they are not sponsoring my music, I had no motivation togive them free advertising at the moment.



This album was released in early 2020 on Spotify, iTunes and allother online platforms through the label BlissRecordings in London (part of frtyfve).Find your favorite service here: https://frtyfve.lnk.to/NPVol1



There are alsovideos of several pieces of this album. They are in the following playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL70vQeCRYmkp3vEdIkdnjJyiU1aZ_u7HA

You Raise Me Up - Advanced Piano Solo

Arranged by Elena Fortin
Music and Words by Brendan Graham & Rolf Lovland

This year, I am continuing to arrange songs that I consider to be important. In order to fit my criteria for arranging, I look for pieces that have stood the test of time, are uplifting, and can be used in many different situations. This one is a favourite of my Mom's so it went on my "To Do list" quite a while ago.

I decided to dedicate it to my Mom and Dad, for giving into my pleadings for music lessons and supporting me all these years.

The arrangement is written for an advanced player because the left hand can be quite challenging. There are many giant leaps and arpeggios all over the piano, including some challenging chord changes and full chords in the right hand. The piece starts in E flat major, but transitions to a F major finish. Each repetition of the melody is changed slightly--there is a challenging section near the end which brings out the melody in a thunderous full arrangement which is really fun to play. Rather than bringing everything to a crashing end though, I moved the melody into a sweet treble that signals a quiet, peaceful ending.

I hope you will enjoy playing this arrangement!