Album Notes

These pieces have been performed in the Washington D.C. area since 1997 mostly at retirement communities and nursing homes. The Grieg piano concerto has been a favorite and many audiences have enjoyed the other repertoire also.
The only comment I had on these pieces came from Andrzej Dutkiewicz who was then the head of the piano department at Chopin Acadamy, Univeristy of Warsaw. I met him and worked in the same camp at Interlochen arts academy in the woods of Northern Michigan. He liked Queen of the Ukraine and laughed at how simple some of the left hand was in the piano concerto Black Madonna.

I agree this album is not the greatest performance of fluent technique. In the beginning it was just a sampler for ice skaters that might use some compositions for their programs on ice or people that might hire me for a recital.

These recordings were made in 1995 and 1996.
This is not the beginning of the story. Flash back in time, to the third floor of the old uninhabited wing of a ... ..a Benedictine Abbey, Where rise ceaselessly the mystical chant of praises to the Lord God Almighty .

So way back in the 1900’s (1980 to be exact) what was a 22 year old fresh college graduate doing in a decrepit deserted wing of the monks' dormitory?
A) Trying to find God.
B) Trying to escape from God.
C) Taking a short cut through a trap set by the Lord.
D) Tormento!! Confusion!!



Fast and pray. Pray and fast. Two years there. Why is my Bible full of action heroes, earth shaking people turning things upside down.

Catholic.
Pay.
Pray.
Obey.
Every Day.
Stay.
outta the way
OK!!!!


This church is 2000 years old!!! The Holy Spirit takes some people aside.

I worked on the Black Madonna for years. Queen of the Ukraine took about 45 minutes to rough out. I was really fascinated by Oksana Baiul snatching the gold medal in the 1994 Olympics so charmingly from out of nowhere. The Queen of the Ukraine is really in honor of he Blessed Virgin Mary and was sparked into creation one morning after hearing the Red Army choir sing Polushka Pole' (Polay). The piece on this CD is the result of a year of refinement. I hoped this piece of music would make it to the Olympic Games. One of the best recordings I made of this piece was an early crude version that had some irregularities. Its part of the process. At least its part of my process. I don't know how other composers work. One professor was explaining.."You don't compose with your hands....you compose with your mind." I was walking along while he described this process to a student.
I use my hands a lot.
I was very excited to introduce this piece of music, Queen of the Ukraine to some great ice skaters who trained in the United States. I was working at a church in Connecticut and i travelled 45 minutes to the rink where Oksana Baiul and Viktor Petrenko were training. WOW! the first people i saw were Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. I had seen them on color TV and now here I was right in front of them!! I had the score for Queen of the Ukraine right in my hand. On the front was a picture of a Russian ICON in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus. Under the picture were the Russian letters that spelled out... Krev Krista Spassee Nas. Translated that means Blood of Christ Save Us. All the kids were flocking to Sergei Grinkov with pens and paper, looking for autographs. I could see he thought i was looking for an autograph. I never was an autograph kind of guy. I said to him, " hard work being a star huh?" He was nice and he replied "yes." while he kept giving autographs. I didn't want to bother him more.
Wish i did.
Soon Oksana Baiul and Viktor Petrenko came along. I tried to show them the score of this music that I thought they would really like to try in their program. I know, because i was out on the ice myself a lot of times and when I was realy tired this piece of music would come along on the tape and all of a sudden I had tons of energy. Well maybe they don't measure energy in tons, but i could really surge. In any case, when Viktor Petrenko and Oksana Baiul saw the musical score that i was trying to show them, they just snatched it out of my hand and signed their names right where it says Blood of Christ Save Us. Can this ever get in the Olympic Games.
Spoeceba. Dahzvidanyea.

Living in the Washington D.C. area I have accumulated quite a few students.
Since I work out on the ice myself, many of the piano students have been ice skaters. One girl used the Queen of the Ukraine when she was little as a two minute program, then later 2:30 and later she won a national championship from her dual citizenship in Puerto Rico and the U.S.
The piece Notre Dame started from an idea of Puccini and some influence of Chopin's E minor concerto.
For an ice skater in D spun all the way off of Pachelbel's Canon into something that most ears would find unrelated all the way into uniquity. I sat at the piano with an ice skating coach and went over the themes. It has to be cut for a program because it is too long.
The Rain Is pouring/Mozart 40th are two themes that have the somber G minor in common. They work well in recital together.
One take in Dflat was a "name that tune" piece at recitals, because i couldn't name the piece that the theme came from. Finally when i did realize where i got the idea, Warsaw Concerto, I listened to the original work and it doesn't really sound like my One Take in D flat.
The Grieg piano concerto is on the disk because I like it. Its very beautiful and i wish i could play it masterfully. I have played it hundreds of times in the Washington D.C. area. Sometimes I have aced it.
I have had hundreds of recitals at retirement campuses, assisted living centers and nursing homes.
In 1997 tendonitis forced me to do right-handed recitals and sing. In 1998 my left hand was coming back. Bad news. My right hand had tendonitis creeping in. I had to sing some more. Depressing, but not so bad.
One's mind gets tougher.
The piece Cafe Mozart was composed in about 45 minutes just before I dashed down to the only piano playing job I had at a regular public place. Cafe Mozart. I was supposed to be there every Thursday at 6 o'clock.
I played at the Kennedy Center Audition for the Millenium Stage. I had composed a special piece for the audition. My main presentation for that audition (when they used to listen to auditions) is on the web page PaulMulcahy.com. It was a piano version of the button for
American Anthem. Anyway they didn't like something. One of the judges looked a little cockeyed at me when i played Cafe' Mozart and said in a questioning tone of voice "You
composed that?" Those were the words, but my paranoid mind always remembers.."(are you trying to tell us) You composed that?" Uh, Yup. That's what I do. All day. Every Day. I wasn't called in to perform.


Much more repertoire is yet unrecorded but used in many recitals. There are musical scores for Queen of Poland, Queen of the Ukraine, the Black
Madonna Piano concerto for piano and orchestra. My
callouses from guitar are growing thick and my interest in electronic keyboard orchestration is growing. You can find some of that on the links on this page.

I'm a strong improviser. I'm not a great reader.

The great ICONS of art history were anonymous.

Jesus Christ raises the dead. The world is full of Good and Evil. The Great Day is coming.