Album Notes

When she was barely seven, Alicia Bessette stared into a tiny mirror on the lid of a music box inherited from her Great Aunt Ella. She listened to the music winding down, a tinny version of "I Could Have Danced All Night," and wondered where the future would take her....

A little older, Alicia and her best friend found a secret world in an old stone fireplace deep in the woods. Inhabited by shy elves, Caller's Place became the meeting spot for pink ponies, tigers, and all the creatures of a child's imagination....

Adolescence. Another friendship, this one rich with piano duets and poetry, late night adventures, and convertible rides in January snow. And letters, Cape Cod Letters, that filled the summer months and kept the connection strong....

Now, in adulthood, Alicia still finds reason to return to her roots in Massachusetts. Maybe it's a hike up Harrington Trail on Mt. Wachusett and the pleasure of an afternoon spent in sunlight with good friends.

This is the stuff of Alicia Bessette's life, the times she transforms to music to share with her listeners in Reservoir, her first solo piano recording. In music that blends the beauty of nature with the enchantment of childhood, Alicia both soothes and surprises the listener with her unique arrangements. From the light and airy "Open Your Hand" to the fiery ardor of "The Chestnut Tree Dreams" and the fluidity of "Under Water Looking Up," Alicia demonstrates an understanding of the intimate harmony between music and the natural world.

For Alicia, composing music is interior work. She says, "I am inspired by the mental solitude of it, and by the challenge of translating something that exists entirely in my head to the real world for others to enjoy." Both musician and writer, she sees a connection in the creative process for both. "Good writing should make you want to write," she says. "For me, it's the same with music. When I hear good music, I want to make some myself."

And that is what Alicia does here. She makes very good music. Listening to Reservoir is like opening that magical music box. As a pianist and composer, Alicia Bessette possesses the sensibility of a poet, and she has never lost the wonder of a child. "What Did You Wish For?" she asks her listener. A simple answer: music like this.

Susanne Rubenstein
Princeton, Massachusetts
September 2002