We get a fair amount of piano submissions and while we love a good piece of neoclassical as much as the next person, some releases stand out and stick with us for many moons after. Paul-Marie Barbier's ''Melancolia'' will certainly become one of those tunes.
Romantic from the first note, the music swings around on jazzy chops and chords, light, effortless and beautiful. The music is picturesque to it's core and reeks of all we know as French and good: the food, the wine, the nature, that charming accent - you name it. To make the scenery ever more tangible, the recording is very alive, with the body of the instrument audible to the listener along with what sounds like a simulation of a vinyl recording. My oh my, just listen to those mesmerizing phrases and harmonic resolutions. Played at the highest level, the pianist spares no elaborations and key changes, all the while keeping the entirety of the composition together like a delicious fruit basket.
Kick back to this wonderful piece of piano music at the link below: