Craig Armstrong - Sun On You (2018)
Craig Armstrong - Sun On You (2018)
1 Sun On You 1:34 2 If You Should Fall 3:33 3 Restart 3:15 4 Marelle 3:20 5 Mono 0:46 6 Shifted 2:11 7 Somewhere 3:36 8 Alti 2:23 9 For Emma 3:01 10 Half Light 3:23 11 Sleep 2:39 12 Hanami 3:39 13 Ondine 4:28 14 Soft Patterns 1:53 15 In A Remote Place 4:51 16 Saudade 4:28 Craig Armstrong - Piano Scottish Ensemble: Georgia Boyd - Viola Ben Burnley - Double Bass Rachel Davis - Viola Duncan Lyall - Double Bass Daniel Pioro - Violin Cecilia Weston - Conductor
I’m very pleased to announce my new album ‘Sun On You’. When composing I felt strongly that each composition gave me, the ensemble and the listener a moment to reflect. The unhurried nature of the pieces gives a sense of time standing still. I think I wanted the pieces to reflect a quietness and stillness. ---craigarmstrong.com
The Scottish film composer Craig Armstrong has released several albums of music that are non-cinematic, but are basically in the same vein as his soundtrack compositions. Sun on You is something else again: its 16 compositions are quite far to the minimalist side. They have evocative titles, but except for Soft Patterns, they are consistent: a simple piano part elaborating sixth or minor seventh harmonies, backed by strings, carefully sculpted and always in the background, by the Scottish Ensemble. It is as if Armstrong had noticed the large profits being reaped by Italian minimalist Ludovico Einaudi and resolved to create a British equivalent, more intimate and more pastoral. One's reaction to this will depend on one's aims in listening to it: for relaxation or meditation, it will fill the bill. But it's worth noting that engineering is key in a project of this kind, and Decca's staff, working at Air Studios in London, have done a wonderful job. With some programming and mastering involved, they have created a sound design that backs the music flawlessly, with each orchestral murmur and feathery fade in place. Recommended for lovers of crossover piano music. ---James Manheim, AllMusic Review
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