NEW CD
Release
Spring Equinox 2015, "FLIGHTS OF
FANCY"
Soulful melodies from the Renaissance to the present day
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Flights of
Fancy
♥
1- One Swallow- MikisTheodorakis 3'13
2- Torre Bermeja - Isaac Albeniz
4'31
3- Asturias- Isaac Albeniz
5'50
4- Recuerdos de l'Alhambra - Francisco Tarrega
3'43
5- Prelude in D minor, J. S. Bach 1'46
6- Fugue in A minor - J. S. Bach 5'14
7-Moonlight Sonata, Ludwig Van Beethoven
4'37
8-A New Ground - Henry Purcell 2'43
9-Fantasie -Silvius Leopold Weiss
2'28
10-Greensleeves
Variations 2'53
11-Fancy No 7- John Dowland
12-Homenaje - Manuel de Falla
3'24
13- Study no 1 -Heitor
Villa-Lobos 2'07
14-Prelude
in Eminor - Heitor Villa-Lobos 4'47
15-Temptation of the Renaissance - Stepan Rak
5'01
16-Canzona in D - Sarn Dyer
2'43
17-Sakura -Yukihiro Yoko
6'36
18-Butterfly Dream Man Dream
Butterfly - Byron Zeliotis 4'36
19-Spanish Romance - Anonymous 2'29
Total Playing Time: ~74 minutes
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"Flights of Fancy" is my latest CD, a colourful musical journey on
the classical guitar, with soulful melodies from the Renaissance to the present day. Dedicated to my
parents, this is my personal album of timeless favourites.
The theme of this album
is dreaming, fantasy or fancy- which is an old English
word-
All these melodies have that magic sound which
can move both listener and performer into a more subtle reality, a landscape of musical dreams.
Hence the title of this album is Flights of Fancy
and all the images on the covers of the CD are images I captured whilst visiting the beautiful Tor is
Somerset, one of the most loved dream-sites of magical
Britain.
The titles of
the pieces are very revealing and often make direct references to dreams with names
like fantasia, fancy and fugue (fugue means flight, or
escape).
Some titles evoke real or abstract subjects
such as: Cherry
Blossom (Sakura), and The Bird of Freedom
(One Swallow)
Others refer to majestic buildings such as
"The Red Castle" in the province of Cadiz (Torre
Bermeja), and memories of the fountains and gardens in the Alhambra Palace,
(Recuerdos de la Alhambra).
The theme to
the melody of Butterfly dreams Man dreams Butterfly was first
conceived by me in a dream after having done magical passes, as taught by the
anthropologist-shaman Carlos Castaneda. The ensuing variations were scored
afterwards.
Other titles, like Canzona in
D and Temptation of the
Renaissance
were written by modern composers
who recreate an
abstract mood
of older times using contrapuntal harmonies
and dance rhythms of the Baroque and Renaissance eras.
The contrasting minor and major melodies of
the Spanish Romance, evoke in us bitter-sweet feelings of
yearning.
Fantasy and romance are echoed in the melancholic, soulful
melody Greensleeves and its playful
variations.
Moonlight
Sonata (from the piano sonata in C# minor)
and Asturias (often also named Leyenda, or
Legend) , were originally titled "Preludes" but
later, because of their haunting musical qualities, were renamed and associated with heroic and
dramatic dream-settings.
The two
pieces Etude and Prelude by Villa-Lobos are full of colourful chords and were influenced
directly by the atmosphere, sounds and rhythms of the Brazilian
rain-forest.
Finally,
both A New Ground and Homenaje evoke funeral marches, feelings of loss,
mourning and Death, the end of all dreams.
Copyright © Byron Zeliotis 2015
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