Album Notes

Songs of Forbidden Love and Forgotten Dances
(Randy Pile with Susan Barrett-oboe and English horn)

Love and Music... they are the two wings of the soul.
   -Memoires, Hector Berlioz, 1865.

Love has been a central theme in music throughout history; melody expressed with love or melody as an expression of love. Colored by varying harmonic backdrops, it has been both a topic and a feeling, clearly presented, or veiled in a world of metaphors and multiple meanings, through the sensible or the sensual. Given life through rhythm, which remains fundamental, it often finds expression in dance. While the dances change, rhythm remains essential, and Spain proves rich in her heritage of both.

Music has the power to express beyond mere words, to bypass the intellect and speak directly to the heart. Able to conquer fear, soothe anger and inspire love, it lives in the realm of the fantastic. It is not mere fantasy, but a reality of potential. Feelings of love and confidence abound in music, but those of fear and anger also live within the boundaries. While on one listening, a piece may inspire the fullness of nostalgic happiness, the next hearing may equally prove the emptiness of forlorn hope. Music is a participation art which elevates the spirit. The musician brings to the performance his feelings, dreams, desires and concerns, as does the most detached listener.

The music on this recording strikes chords, both fun and profound, that will resonate with varying degrees of intensity in the heart of the listener. Much of it is derived from vocal forms based on dance rhythms. Texts have been provided for the songs since they played an integral part in the original artistic creation of each composition and affect the subsequent interpretation of the work.

Randy Pile