Album Notes

Noir et Blanc / Black and White - By Darian Stavans.

St. Angelis Symphony Orchestra. Darian Stavans - Conductor.

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"Isolation... the reason for passion..."

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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Noir et Blanc is a work that was totally conceived for orchestra. As we listen to the album we are intrigued, for the only element lacking is the contrast suggested by the title. Why? The answer is that contrasts do not exist. They are simply the furthermost points in a grayscale that when displayed like a fan shows these extremes and therefore their contrasts.

The deeds and acts that flow inside our mask of power come and go in nostalgic melancholy through pain and glory trickling like the water in a brook, where tenderness meets madness. Sometimes everything seems the same even though each element acts differently.

This album speaks about that intriguing grayscale and the powerful force that lets it plunge into the depths of human essence and the soul. In the face of facts, seemingly distinct and at the same time so alike, only courage will prove out their differences and make us dare call out the Noir et Blanc, the Black and White, but until that moment comes things will appear to flow in a grayscale.


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ABOUT THE ARTIST


Evocative is a word that has been used to describe, or better said, react to the music of Darian Stavans. Evocative? One would imagine that such a music would bring to the mind and heart shared memories, but one does not necessarily share memories with an artist; one shares feelings, reflections, dreams. These are the things one finds in the music of Darian Stavans— a passage of sorts to that special place we all have deep in our souls.

The apparent simplicity of works such as Interiors, Passion, and Poetic is powerfully touching and intensely beautiful. Captivating melodies hold our attention as their notes drop ever deeper into the soul of the listener, retrieving echoes of the human experience we all share. Our lives may be different, but our feelings are not. Stavans’ music glides us soothingly into currents of profoundly romantic reverie, pools of sunlit serenity, and occasionally into the depths of fleeting melancholy.

Stavans, the composer, imbues his music with texture: a guitar lends its sometimes earthy, sometimes airy quality to Els Segons Temps; whereas a lighter, more translucent harp is used to render Lullabies. In making his music come alive, Stavans has also become a producer (he produced all the works featured here) and a conductor. He conducted and recorded the St. Angelis Symphony Orchestra for his works Noir et Blanc and Prayer.

Nonetheless, Darian Stavans is first and foremost a gifted composer and pianist. His music speaks his soul and in so doing, speaks to our own. Perhaps listening to his works we might become acquainted with the artist, but it would be more accurate to say, we become reacquainted with ourselves.

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