24 Impromptus
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley June 18, 2024
Artist – Pam Asberry
Distributor:
Released: May 2024
Running Time: 54mins 54 secs.
Website: https://pamasberry.bandcamp.com/album/24-impromptus
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More than seven years ago, Pam Asberry was a very talented pianist who enjoyed her work, teaching and playing; creating music to be enjoyed. She felt driven to compose and since her first album Seashells in My Pocket released in 2017, she has gone on to create some incredibly beautiful, memorable music.
Her new release 24 Impromptus is a collection of twenty-four small pieces combined to make almost one hour of delightful listening. Asberry has the pieces listed as affirmations, which is a perfect description as any one song would make the perfect accompaniment for an early morning or anytime at all simple affirmation or small prayer.
Each piece has a delightfully intimate element that can be either cheerful, thoughtful or full of lightness and fun as is Impromptu No. 3 in G Minor – “Bliss” a somewhat delicious song.
The drifting melody Impromptu No. 9 in E Major- “Serenity” floats along with a delightful simplicity, which gathers into a slightly more robust finale before the more thoughtful Impromptu No 10 in C-sharp Minor – “Mercy” unfolds in gentle waves of sound.
Moving down the list there is the luxurious Impromptu No. 22 in G Minor – “Persevere” once again slightly dreamy with a definite grace that captures a sense of tenacity often needed in life. Impromptu No 24 in D Minor – “Magnify” is the final aspiration and is a song filled with grace to conclude an absolutely charming collection.
For those pianists, there is also a spiral bound, printed Songbook to accompany the album. Each of the songs follow in the classical music tradition of a set of pieces in all the major and minor keys of the chromatic scale.