Starlight Dreams
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley March 17, 2019
Artist – Karen Biehl
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A study in music eventually becoming composition of beauty and delight has been created by composer and pianist Karen Biehl in her first solo album Starlight Dreams, written to offer a romantic classical meditation to help create focus, peace and awareness, a philosophy she has followed most of her life.
Having always felt a strong connection to the stars and the majesty to be discovered in the night skies she, even as a young child looked to the heavens whenever she needed solace, guidance or relaxation.
With this work the continuum of the pieces beginning with Awakenings, which is a sharp, take notice piece, was evoked by the desire to be fully awake to the never-ending potential that is offered in dreams. Invocation follows binding the emotions, building the connection until the Union of dreams and reality can be fulfilled.
These three pieces make a lovely introduction to the body of the work, each of the pieces having been written to tell a story, or to allow a story to evolve from the notes.
On Angel Wings strong piece, is somewhat unexpected as generally when Angels are being heralded the music is soft and gentle. Biehl takes this one step further as is often the case, particularly when they are trying to make a point!
Coming in at 5:08 seconds Raindrops is the longest song on the album and is a lovely refreshing piece, washing away the cares with a deluge before settling into lifegiving, refreshing, healing comfort.
A waltz is always a composition of great beauty allowing the mind to wander into romantic territory, as in the perfect little piece Starlight Waltz, where the figures of two people in love, in the moment can very easily be visualised.
Ambling along in the autumn leaves, kicking the piles of red, amber and gold beauty into the air once again, has been captured perfectly in Autumn Amble, creating a joyful naughtiness everyone delights in when the leaves are changing colours, falling in glorious profusion to the earth.
Meditation on a Moonlit Lake is absolutely the most perfect ending to a wonderful, joyful, contemplative journey. The composition is all encompassing with a lovely addition of synth to create the mysterious magic of a lake at night, a full moon hanging in the sky, a perfect moment in time there to be enjoyed. This piece also showcases, with a tiny glimpse, the immense skill of his classically trained pianist, violinist and opera singer.
Starlight Dreams was names Best Solo Piano Album 2018 by New Aged Music Guide and also voted as one of their top 10 albums. It has also reached Number 2 on the New Age Music Charts in March 2019.