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Charles Hiestand : The Element of Joy
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Classical improvising, with elements of New Age and Jazz.
Genre: New Age: New Age
Release Date: 2003
The Element of Joy
Charles Hiestand
Record Label: Critical Sun Recordings
  • Buy CD - $12.99
  • Download Album (MP3) - $9.99

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Preview Song Name Time Buy
1. Eulogy 8:05 + MP3 $0.99
2. The Element of Joy 2:44 + MP3 $0.99
3. The Outer Good 6:46 + MP3 $0.99
4. My Foolish Heart 5:32 + MP3 $0.99
5. Etude #2 5:35 + MP3 $0.99
6. Turn Around 8:55 + MP3 $0.99
7. Falling Grace 3:24 + MP3 $0.99
8. Fifth Air 8:07 + MP3 $0.99
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Album Notes

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\"These pieces are all improvised. Basically, I went over to Don\'s [one of the producers\'] house and played his piano [1911 Steinway \'O\'] for a day. I edited the recordings and boiled it down to this, but there is very little actual editing in any of the pieces.

\"I wanted something fresh that reflected both what I had to say and what I thought you might like to hear. It is music that is accessible but intelligent; beautiful, thoughtful, and pianistic. That was the goal anyway.

\"There is no program. The names came after and are some reference to the music that probably only makes sense to me. The exception is \'Eulogy\'. My teacher Lou Harrison wrote a beautiful piece for orchestra called Eulogy. I remember hearing it in 1980 and how it brought tears to my eyes. Traveling to Don\'s I heard the news of the space shuttle Columbia. I was so sad and I knew that I couldn\'t ignore how I was feeling about the tragedy. So I sat down and played \'Eulogy\' first, modeled very loosely after Lou\'s piece, and it remains first in the play list. The next day I heard that Lou had passed away, and so the Eulogy seems to be for him as well.\" (from the liner notes)


Charles Hiestand is a composer, pianist, teacher, choir director, bass player, and record producer living in Seattle. He studied piano with Margaret Chaloff. He studied composition with Lou Harrison. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Washington.

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REVIEWS

This CD is appreciated so much that I am spreading the word and want to order an
author: Terry Wagener
                            
Charles definitely is talented
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Absolutely perfect. Just what I enjoy. I want more of Charles Hiestand's music
author: Terry Wagener
                            
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Brilliant work.
author: Jack O'Brien
                            
You just do not hear piano like this anymore. The Element of joy is indeed just that. A welcome surprise, a much needed relief in these days of one man band crappy music. You go Doc!! Jack O'Brien
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A very positive critique from Taxi
author: Taxi via Charlie
                            
As part of the deal I made with Disc Makers, Taxi gave me a custom critique of one track. I asked them to listen to the title track, here's what they said [with my comments in brackets]: "Greetings Charles, The piece sounds lovely. Your playing is wonderfully fluid & nuanced, and the instrument itself has an evocative, vintage character that I think enhances this track. Although I think the piece has more depth than most new age material [!], I think that might be your best bet as far as marketing. It's possible that the piece could also appeal to some jazz audiences, perhaps more on the smooth jazz side of things, and also to some classical listeners." "The A section lines are quite appealing & I like the contrast with the more modal sections that follow. The contray motion scales also are effective as links between sections" "For an improvised piece (albeit subsequently edited) [there were no edits except for the last note, you can hear that without too much difficulty, long story...], this sounds remarkably cohesive & solidly crafted in terms of structure." Thank you, my anonymous reviewer at Taxi!
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