Moonlight by Michael Wall
When I was eight, my father brought a brand new, glossy, upright piano into our downstairs family room. I was immediately drawn to it, as I am with every musical instrument I come across. My father could only play a few bars of Beethoven's "Sonata quasi una fantasia", specifically the second movement, but those simple harmonies of the first few bars ignited my love for harmony.
Most people know the second movement of Beethoven's piano sonata No. 14 as the "Moonlight Sonata". One translation of Beethoven's original title is "sonata almost a fantasy", and Franz Liszt describes it as "a flower between two abysses". This resonates with me. I have always thought of that movement as something to be improvised, meaning improvising all parts of the piece while outlining the harmonic progression and keeping the melodies solidly intact.
The talented artist Madison Olandt was interested in choreographing a piece using the "Moonlight Sonata," and I suggested the improvisational idea. She created a chronological outline of the choreography, and I incorporated the times directly into my score. I am thrilled with the end result and grateful to Madison and the dancers from UC Santa Barbara Theater/Dance for bringing this idea to life.
“Possibilities” and “With a Tainted Heart” both come from a collaboration with Alexa Steven’s on her film “moonhoney”. “Long Fall Back” was commissioned by Anna Gutierrez. “iPretty Sing” is a remix of one of my favorite musical moments that I have created. It has been 20 years since I created the original piece, and looking back on it now feels fuzzy, like the distortion pedal I ran the remix through. Like “Moonlight”, all of the songs in this collection reflect blurred memories of relationships and deep shades of nostalgia.
Tracklist
| 1. | Moonlight Sonata | 8:18 |
| 2. | iPretty Sing | 5:52 |
| 3. | Possibilities | 3:56 |
| 4. | Long Fall Back | 6:05 |
| 5. | With Tainted Heart | 4:14 |
Credits
Album Art was sourced from Pascal DeBrunner on Unsplash.
License
All rights reserved.Tags
Michael Wall has established a reputation as one of the most innovative and impactful composers in the world of contemporary music and dance. He currently writes over 200 new commissions each year for leading dance organizations and sync projects including Flockworks, Pilobolus, Charles Anderson, Seattle Dance Collective, and the Grammy-nominated album "Spirit Song" by his mentor Kenny Barron.