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"Quite simply, Solace is
one of the most beautiful CDs I have ever heard"
Lloyd Barde, President,
Backroads Music
Solace
nominated for a Grammy. (New Age Category) (2004)
Available now at:
And is now available in
Canada, Germany, Japan and Korea.
Reviews:
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Michael
Hoppé
Solace
(p) 2003 Michael Hoppé
(c) 2003 Spring Hill Music
12tks/51mins
Oh, this bewitching sorrow
of the violin that's singing in the night!
What are you yearning for
At the time of approaching dawn?
What is charming in Michael Hoppe's music that wins
you over from the very first chords, what is special in his compositions
that makes you listen to them over and over again? Most probably that it
is an incredible intelligence and finesse of his tunes. And, in
addition, an aching tenderness, light sadness that plunges you into
memoirs, that arouses sweet moments of your life. And all this is so
divinely beautiful!
Michael Hoppe comes back to us with his thirteenth
album "Solace". In recording of this album the Prague Symphony Orchestra
took part, the orchestra parts being recorded through Internet, as well
as legendary Vangelis who had performed "The Parting" composition.
Moreover, a great many famous musicians participated in recording of
"Solace": Martin Tillmann - cello, Heidi Fielding - soprano, Kenton
Youngstrom - guitar, Eugene Fodor -violin, as well as à number of other
really outstanding performers. And, no doubt, key parts were performed
by Michael Hoppe himself.
A new album "Solace" recalls previous Michael
Hoppe's compositions, such as "Afterglow", "The Yearning" or "The
Unforgetting Heart",and at the same time there is a charm of novelty and
freshness in it. The tunes of "Solace" are all-embracing and more
optimistic, they are more "rich" and voluminous. They set the heart at
rest and fill it with hope. This music is exquisite and perfect. These
healing harmonies of Michael Hoppe! All his heart is in this music!
"Solace" is a very integral album, it is impossible
to single out one or another composition. They all join together as a
one song full of tenderness and assumption.
Beyond doubt Vangelis contributed his share in the
album by his vigorous and an incredibly careful performance of "The
Parting" composition. In sounding of his tune one can feel a shoreless
sea which closes up at the sea-line with blue midday sky.
"Solace" is the music of timeless love, it is the
song of immortal heart…
On shoreless oceans of memories,
Losses and partings of years past
Your bark will lightly glide to dawn
Where a coming day is born,
A divinely beautiful day…
Serge Kozlovsky
email: s.kozlovsky@gtp.by
web site: http://mkmk.com/kozlovsky
Serge,
your friend
from Belarus
P.S. Translated by Tatyana L. Permyakova. |
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Thank You so much for fantastic brilliant Solace!!! We are
glad and proud discover for us and for our audience creation of such bright, such
distinguished artist as You, touch highest culture and mastery! Thank Youfor joy and happiness of dealings with Your wonderful music!
Much friendly love from Siberia
Serge Tikhanoff
Radio Penguin.
I just spoke with Kate Mucci at Music, Mind, and Matter in
Pahrump, Nevada and she will be featuring your CD on her TV show Out There. She
absolutely LOVES Solace! Her TV show aires in NV, AZ, UT, and MI and
features alternative news. What a complement from Kate who is very
particular. Wendy
Michael Hoppe's Solace is a marvel of artistry
and technology. His thirteenth album, Hoppe says that this recording came to life through a
series of miracles that allowed him to create a much more complex rendition
of his work. Last year, a fan that he had never met contacted Hoppe,
offering to help him further his vision in some way out of gratitude for the
solace Hoppe¹s music had brought to his
own life. Hoppe told him
that he'd love to work with a full symphony but that the cost was prohibitive. The
benefactor said he would take care of it. Shortly after that, Hoppe received
a card in the mail announcing the possibility of recording with the Prague
Symphony without having to travel to Czechoslovakia - the recording sessions
would take place over the Internet from his hometown of Los Angeles. The
orchestral parts were sent to Prague via the Internet and copied there. For
the actual recording, engineers created at live Internet link from a large
studio in Prague to another studio in Los Angeles, enabling the people in
both studios to see and interact with each other. From LA, Hoppe was able to
conduct the orchestra, and it was even possible to remotely activate a small
video camera for close-ups of the soloists! Four of the album¹s
twelve tracks were recorded with the symphony: This Majestic Land, Romance
for Violin and Orchestra, Renouncement, and Nimbus.
All
four are gorgeous,
and revel in Hoppe's classical roots. The piece that has been creating
a lot of buzz in relation to this album is Vangelis appearance
playing Hoppe'sown The Parting. This is not a new recording, but a tweaked
version of a cassette recording Hoppe made in 1986 while visiting his hero at his home
(then in New York). The two composers were talking about their recent work,
and Hoppe played a 3-minute version of The Parting.
Vangelis
then did an 8-minute take while Hoppe recorded the impromptu performance. Many years
later, Hoppe had a friend who owns a mastering facility transfer the
recording, removing unwanted background noise and expanding the dynamic
range. Hoppe then sent the new recording to Vangelis who gave him permission
to use it on Solace. Michael Hoppe hopes that this music will give
a sense of much needed peace in an increasingly troubled world... and a
continued belief in small miracles. As on previous albums, Hoppe¹s
music tends to be melancholy, but is so shimmeringly beautiful and elegant that it
soothes and lifts the spirit. Hoppe has been one of my favorite artists for
many years, and this is definitely one of his very best albums to date.
Miracles set to music!
- Kathy Parsons
Solo Piano Publications
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