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Linda Shumas, Voices from the Cloisters (LS1002)
Voices from the Cloisters is the debut CD from Canadian composer/pianist Linda Shumas. Featuring 16 original piano compositions by Linda Shumas, Voices from the Cloisters is a wide tapestry of beautiful melodic music, rich in inventive harmonies and emotional expression. Performed by the composer, Voices from the Cloisters offers works of haunting beauty - the tender mood of "Positive Force", the dark tones of "Woods Music", the mystery of "Nocturne" all show Linda Shumas to be a composer and performer of originality and imagination, writing music that is meaningful and relevant to our times. Although primarily a solo piano CD, Voices from the Cloisters also features two special compositions - "Lotus Sandals" for Violin & piano, and the beautiful "Lullabye for Jessye Norman" for Soprano & piano. Linda Shumas has received great acclaim for her music - in 1978 she was awarded the Jean Coulthard Prize for Composition; in 1994 her music was the featured centerpiece of and award winning film by Peter Lee which was premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and later at the Barcelona Film Festival and New York Film Festivals. A superb pianist, Linda Shumas is one of the few composers today who perform their own music. As a performer, Linda Shumas has performed across North America at many high profile venues such as Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall, the Bohemian Embassy and others. Voices from the Cloisters is a wonderful collection of original music from a talented and exciting Canadian composer.
Linda Shumas, Voices from the Cloisters
Catalogue #1369.1D
Price: $16.50
Linda Shumas, Paradise Reborn
Paradise Reborn is the latest release from Canadian pianist/composer Linda Shumas and is a wonderfully eclectic mixture of solo piano music pieces from the baroque, classical, romantic and modern eras. Linda is a consummate pianist, and her playing is poetic and expressive, crossing all musical boundaries with ease as she brings out the subtle beauty of every composition, whether it's the classical formality of the First Movement of Haydn's D Major Piano Sonata, the delicate tapestry of Couperin's Les Languers or the broad sweep of Scriabin's Etudes. Above all, Linda's playing is imbued with passion - the Romantically flavoured Rachmaninoff pieces are rich examples of her broad, beautiful phrasing, that brings out the nuances of inner lines while never losing sight of the emotional content of the work. Also featured on Paradise Reborn are the World Premiere recordings of five Poemes for Solo Piano by composer Nick Peros - these short works range in mood from pensive and joyful to tender and otherwordly - Linda's pianistic skill is clearly evident in the demanding Poeme No. 6, a fiery work that combines melody, intricate passage work and hand-crossing across the whole span of the keyboard. Also premiered on Paradise Reborn are five original compositions by Linda herself - these works also cover a wide range of mood and emotions, and display Linda's pianistic and compositional artistry - Perle Noir is an engagingly evocative soundscape of wide musical breadth, while the beautiful Purge is in fact an etude for left hand only; Linda's work has often been inspired by improvisation and her composition Cerullian Blue pays tribute to the improvisational element in her works. Linda performs regularly across Canada and Paradise Reborn is being serviced to classical radio and press across Canada and the US. Paradise Reborn by pianist/composer Linda Shumas is a refreshingly new classical CD that celebrates the beauty and diversity of the keyboard repertoire.
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