A collection of 7 Airs & Fantasias for solo piano. The airs are essentially melody-dominated, and the fantasias are pieces in free form with a minimalistic use of repeated and rotating patterns.  [79 pages, 64 minutes]

Released on CD and extensively reviewed (see below) - see www.johnpitts.co.uk/cds.htm for further info.

Download the whole album or individual tracks as mp3s at 1EqualMusic/Hyperion http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_1EMIPM08&vw=dc

Book of sheet music available from www.johnpitts.co.uk/sheetmusic.htm

 

Steven Kings - intensely pleasant music: 7 Airs & Fantasias and other piano music by John Pitts

cd.tp/ipm08 [77.49]

£9.99 (plus p&p) cd.tp/ipm08

 

REVIEWS

***** Kathy Parsons, mainlypiano.com

"Realmente un magnífico repertorio desbordante de calidad, belleza y de sumo interés." Alejandro Clavijo, Reviews New Age

"The performances by Steven Kings are excellent ... All [the pieces] are pleasing to hear and will be satisfying to play" Patric Standford, Music & Vision Daily

“This is a colorful and interesting set by a talented composer.... The playing by Steven Kings is technically and emotionally perfect." Oleg Ledeniov, MusicWeb International

“great character and emotional integrity...a thoroughly worthwhile project” Mark Tanner, Piano Professional Magazine

“recomendable" Adolfo del Brezo, OpusMusica.com (Spain)

 “…surely more than just `intensely pleasant music'.” Michael Darvell, ClassicalSource.com

**** Paul Riley, Venue Magazine

***** Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion Magazine

**** Andy Gill, The Independent

“…highly listenable stuff, very deftly in control of its chosen medium.  A number of disparate influences are on display here, but welded into an overall idiom of considerable charm… `Intensely pleasant music'? Most certainly.”  Calum MacDonald, International Record Review Magazine

9/10 “this album is beautiful, moving and relaxing”  Andy Whitehead, Cross Rhythms

 “A colossal musical project… stunning and seriously impressive" John France, MusicWeb International

 "Exciting stuff all round - vital, energising, but sensitive when need be. Toes - prepare to tap." Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International

 

mainlypiano.com Kathy Parsons 27 March 2017

Intensely Pleasant Music: 7 Airs and Fantasias and Other Piano Music is a collection of pieces composed by John Pitts and performed by pianist Steven Kings. There are sixteen tracks in total, but seven of those are paired as Airs and Fantasias. The opening piece, “Changes,” is a piano duet performed by Kings and Pitts; the others are solo. Although Pitts’ sense of humor often shines in the music, this is serious classical music, some of which is atonal and somewhat chaotic, but several tracks - especially the Airs - are elegant and very beautiful. Pitts has music degrees from Bristol and Manchester Universities (UK) and several of his works have received awards. He has also composed music for Christian worship, plays, and operatic works. One of the short operatic works, titled “Three Sliced Mice,” was commissioned by Five Brothers Pasta Sauces! Kings is also from the UK and received his musical training at the King’s School in Worcester, St. John’s College Cambridge and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He started performing in the 1980’s and continues to perform as a soloist, accompanist, and chamber musician. The album was recorded in August 2008 on a Steinway Model D grand piano.

The album begins with “Changes (For Twenty Nifty Fingers)” a very intense duet for four hands, one piano. While I appreciate the challenge of overlapping parts and keeping track of a 14/8 rhythm, it’s a bit jarring to my ears. “Toccata: Blue Frenzy” is also very intense and discordant as well as technically-demanding. At close to ten minutes, it’s rather challenging for the listener as well. After those two pieces, “Air 1: Gentle Interweaving” came as an “intensely pleasant” surprise! Much more melodic and flowing, I really like this one! “Fantasia 1: Clockwork 5/4” is very intricate, with each hand performing a part quite different from the other. It begins in the upper registers of the piano with the left hand keeping a steady tempo while the right hand freely dances. The piece becomes darker and more mysterious as it evolves. “Air 2: After Satie” is a favorite. The references to Erik Satie are there, but with variations that are not so obvious. “Fantasia 2: On the Westminster Chimes” is a piece for prepared piano with “a small plastic ruler secured loosely in place over middle C to the E above, another ruler wedged between 2 of the 3 F strings, and a bent metal ruler from the next C up over a further octave.” Of course, these objects completely change the sound of the piano and the variations on the Chimes range from fairly quiet to brash and chaotic. It’s definitely interesting! “Air 3: On An Anagram” has obvious references to Chopin, with a dark, haunting melody that expresses deep emotion - another favorite. “Air 4: Sarabande” is also a favorite. Slow and somewhat brooding at the beginning, it picks up momentum in the middle, and then slows and calms, rebuilding energy to the end. “Fantasia 4: Wind Chimes” is a fascinating exploration of the seemingly random sounds and rhythms of wind chimes. Airs and Fantasias #6 and 7 “inhabit a different harmonic world to the other pieces, using a collection of chord relationships called ‘Twisted Harmonies’.” These are quite interesting, but I prefer the first five pairs. 

Intensely Pleasant Music: 7 Airs and Fantasias and Other Piano Music isn’t for the casual listener or for someone looking for music to fall asleep to - to wake up to, maybe, but it won’t make you sleepy! For those up for a bit of a listening challenge, check it out! It is available from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Intensely-Pleasant-Music-Fantasias-Other/dp/B001T... and CD Baby.

 

Alejandro Clavijo, Reviews New Age November 2010

7 Airs & Fantasias and other piano music es una muestra de prodigio y perfección al piano. John Pitts compone dieciséis obras de gran interés y belleza. Con la colaboración de otro gran pianista, Steven Kings, John ejecuta dos piezas de un portentoso nerviosismo y nos regala catorce temas compuestos entre los años 1992 y 2007 que acarician los sentidos. Realmente un magnífico repertorio desbordante de calidad, belleza y de sumo interés.

La primera obra que nos presenta el artista es "Changes (For Twenty Nifty Fingers)", que junto al segundo track de este álbum llenan más de doce minutos de enérgicos toques, al parecer improvisados, recordando a las melodías de los maestros Jarrett o Mertens en algunos instantes. Para esta primera pieza, el asombro está garantizado, realmente hay veinte dedos dando forma a una melodía frenética pero increíble, puro virtuosismo!. Me encanta!.

"Toccata: Blue Frenzy" es la segunda pieza enardecida del CD, además de las más extensa, casi 10 minutos de incesante y bella improvisación. Es fascinante poder imaginar el rápido movimiento de las manos del pianista recorriendo todas las escalas del piano una y otra vez. Wow!.

A partir de "Air 1: Gentle Interweaving" el álbum cobra un sentimiento más delicado, dulce. En este caso, la música se nota levemente triste, pero con una apasionada melodía que enaltece la lamentación.

"Fantasia 1: Clockwork 5/4" es otra de mis preferidas. De reiterativa y oscura melodía, pero grandiosa técnicamente, esta elaborada composición muestra el permanente pasar del tiempo, constante, de inevitable parada. Qué gran tema!.

"Air 2: After Satie" deja ver el vivo minimalismo que el Maestro Satie mostraba en cada una de sus obras. Una mezcla de fragilidad y lindeza componen cada nota que acaricia el artista en esta tierna pieza.

Un toque de cuerdas de piano abren el tema "Fantasia 2: On the Westminster Chimes". Mágica, enérgica y sorprendente, el piano reproduce la conocida melodía que el reloj de la famosa torre londinense hacer sonar en las horas puntas. Nuevamente, otra obra magistral en la técnica y bellísima en su composición!.

"Air 3: On An Anagram" es estupenda. La música perfecta para acompañar a un tierno y romántico baile, un tema íntimo, profundo y muy conmovedor.

"Fantasia 3: Parallel Octaves". Aunque posee gran encanto, la música es un permanente toque de notas altas mientras la mano derecha reproduce una discontinua melodía, muy monótona en ocasiones, provocando la desatención del oyente.

Una reservada y lenta danza es "Air 4: Sarabande". Dibujada por apenadas notas, esta composición se va tornando en algunos momentos valerosa, volviendo a su estado de profunda preocupación.

Con "Fantasia 4: Wind Chimes" es como si pudiésemos oír la voz del viento. Semejándose a pequeñas campanillas movidas por una suave brisa, "Fantasia 4: Wind Chimes" reproduce una música sin melodía definida, reproduciendo el tintineo que harían las pequeñas campanas al ser tocadas por el viento, un tintineo que se acelera con un marcado ritmo. Me gusta!.

Después de la agitación del tema anterior, "Air 5: Calmly Contented" nos aporta una armonía y una tranquilidad exquisitas. Con suavidad, se van marcando algunos acordes mientras la diestra reproduce una melodía quebradiza y llena de ternura.

"Fantasia 5: Bells in 9/8" es maravillosa. Un rápido toque de notas altas sirven de acompañamiento permanente a algunos acordes y notas rápidas que reproduce la mano izquierda en la zona baja del teclado. Una composición risueña y positiva, y otra de mis preferidas!.

"Air 6: Modal Twist" parece otra melodía creada en el momento, como improvisada. Esta es un continuo juego de vertiginosas notas que nacen en las distintas escalas, dejando algunos momentos de descanso. Una obra hipnotizante!.

De elegante sencillez, "Fantasia 6: Half-Second-Hand" no posee una compleja música, ni técnicamente es destacable, pero si es de una profunda hermosura. Un toque persistente de notas de principio a fin son el acompañamiento para una melodía intermitente y penetrante.

Predominando una melodía creada por golpes de acordes, "Air 7: Cantabile Mist" es sencilla en su melodía pero acertada en la composición. La unión de las notas agudas con las más graves ofrecen una sombría belleza a esta lenta obra.

El CD concluye con "Fantasia 7: All in a Chord". Haciendo honor a su título, este tema marca con fuerza un acorde, siendo a veces cansado, esperando con ansias un cambio de tercio que nunca llega. Constante desde su comienzo y distinguiendo algunas mínimas variaciones, la melodía va evolucionando con dificultad entre el repetitivo acorde.

Para los amantes de un piano distinto, minimalista y prodigioso, se descubre 7 Airs & Fantasias and other piano music por el compositor y pianista anglosajón, John Pitts. Un estilo que carece de muy pocos creadores que lo persigan, pero al que le sobran fieles seguidores. Un magistral género que conocemos gracias a los maestros Keith Jarrett o Wim Mertens, por nombrar a los más destacables, y al que hoy incluimos al maestro John Pitts que ha hecho un trabajo espectacular, lo máximo en técnica y en belleza. 7 Airs & Fantasias and other piano music es un álbum muy interesante y recomendable.

 

Patric Standford, Music & Vision Daily June 2010

7 Aires & Fantasias are solo piano pieces written between 1992 and 2007 and are grouped together in pairs, without necessarily being thematically related, rather like Bach's Preludes and Fugues. They are intended to be played individually or in pairs, and have programmatic titles that will appeal to pianists that may grade themselves as between 6 and 8 in the examination stakes.

The subtitles give an indication of the moods: Gentle Interweaving and Clockwork 5/4; Sarabandeand Wind Chimes; Cantabile Mist and All in a chord. All are pleasing to hear and will be satisfying to play, though some are more difficult than others.

The performances by Steven Kings are excellent and capture both the delicacy and occasional liveliness of the pieces, many of which seem to exude elements of devious humour that places them rather further from the Bach than their structural partnerships might suggest....

Perhaps more impressive than all these pieces is the energetic Toccata (Blue Frenzy) and a piece called Changes 'for 20 nifty fingers' in which Kings is partnered by the composer in an impressive brief climactic outburst....

 

Oleg Ledeniov, MusicWeb International May 2010

I was a little nervous about the words "intensely pleasant music" which were repeated several times over the disc case and the booklet. It smelled of Richard Clayderman. However, don't worry: it is not intensely pleasant music, it is just good. What a relief.

The opening piece must be a counting nightmare for the two pianists: they are supposed to play overlapping bars of 14 vs. 15 quavers. But what a splendid result! It's as if Prokofiev's Toccatawas rewritten by Steve Reich: rolling at you like a rollercoaster. Probably, this rolling effect is created by the unequal bar partitions - a perpetuum instabile, like Brahms' 2-to-3. It was hard to stop listening to it in "Repeat" mode and move on to the second piece.

Blue Frenzy is another toccata. This time it's not just a one-trick thing like the first one, but a multifaceted construction. The composer expertly works with motivic cells. Ten minutes pass as one: episodes are well measured, with times to ride and times to rest. Relentless ever-changing rhythm and jazzy harmonies propel the music forward.

Finally, there is the set of seven pairs of Airs & Fantasias. Brahms would probably call them Intermezzos and Capriccios, although in character they are closer to Debussy's Préludes (or, as is the case with Air 3, to Chopin's). As the insert notes put it, "The airs are essentially melody-dominated, and the fantasias are pieces in free form with a minimalistic use of repeated and rotating patterns". The Fantasias often explore the clock-bell-chime soundworld (just look at their titles), but this is well separated by more "horizontal" Airs. There are many pleasant discoveries - melodic, rhythmic, sonic - but almost no standard or predictable moves or clichés - at least, for me. The listener doesn't have to work hard to get into the music: a kind of minimalistic "submerge and relax" attitude will definitely do the trick. This is a colorful and interesting set by a talented composer. And if harmony is your thing, you'll find much to admire here.

The playing of Steven Kings is technically and emotionally perfect. It is dry enough to convey the youthful, fresh character of the music, yet not too dry, and so the music preserves all the lyricism and the crispiness. One minor thing, though: some moments seemed over-pedalled. The recording, mastered by Jonathan Scott, is very spacious. No: it's four-dimensional. You can almost see the notes materializing in the air. All in all, this is a rewarding disc. Well... intensely pleasant. But in a good sense!

 

Stephen Eddins, All Music Guide April 2010

The 14 movements of British composer John Pitts' Seven Airs & Fantasias are notable for their warmth and generous lyricism. Most are quietly contemplative character pieces not given to dramatic developments or contrasts. One of the airs has the title "After Satie" and the spirit, if not always the language, of Satie's quiet piano miniatures infuses more than a few of the movements. In spite of the apparent simplicity of the music's surface, it's clear that these are not casual improvisations and that Pitts has control over the structure and direction of each piece. In several, he uses a system of chord relationships he developed based on a "circle of anything-but-fifths" that he describes as "twisted harmonies," which avoids conventional harmonic resolutions but has its own idiosyncratic sense of tension and release. While they are not harmonically static, most of the pieces tend to have a "white note" sound. There is certainly dissonance in the jazz-tinged harmonies, but the repetitive structures and essentially tonal harmonic vocabulary give some of the music a gently hypnotic post-minimal effect. "Changes for 20 nifty fingers", and "Blue Frenzy, toccata for piano", are another story altogether. These, too, have a minimalist feeling, but of the very fast variety, and they make virtuoso demands on performer Steven Kings, who is joined in Changes by the composer. The performances of Airs & Fantasias are sensitive and nuanced and vigorously animated in Changes and Blue Frenzy. The name of Pitts' record label, Intensely Pleasant Music, is certainly an apt characterization of the works on this release. The sound is clean, clear, and present.

 

Adolfo del Brezo, OpusMusica.com 1 November 2009

El afán clasificatorio tan propio del ser humano se topa a veces con casos que se resisten a cualquier encasillamiento, como es el caso del CD que nos ocupa. ¿Música clásica, jazz, new age, música minimalista...? Lo más recomendable aquí es cerrar los ojos y, sin prejuicios y sin buscar ningún molde estilístico preconcebido, disponerse a disfrutar de esta atractiva música pianística escrita por el joven y talentoso compositor británico John Pitts.

El disco se abre con mucho ritmo: la breve Changes —interpretada por los diez dedos de Steven Kings con la ayuda de los diez dedos de John Pitts—, seguida de una larga Toccata de casi diez minutos de duración, esta vez, como el resto del disco, interpretada a solo por los diez dedos de Steven Kings que a menudo parecen más de veinte, tal es la aparente dificultad de ejecución de esta obra. Tras esta dosis altamente eléctrica de ritmo comienza la sucesión de 7 Airs & Fantasias, un total de catorce conmovedoras piezas que son una auténtica delicia de sensibilidad y originalidad. Música pianística principalmente melódica, apta para todos los públicos, por la que desfilan ecos de Ravel, Satie, Messiaen, Bernstein, John Cage, Steve Reich o Keith Jarrett, todo ello aderezado con el estilo personalísimo de John Pitts y cocinado por un intérprete de muy alto nivel como es el también británico Steven Kings. La Fantasia 2, titulada On the Westminster Chimes está interpretada sobre un piano preparado y fascina al oyente por sus originales sonoridades. El resto de piezas se ejecutan sobre un piano de concierto tradicional y son ideales para ser escuchadas en la soledad de la noche, dejándose llevar por la ola de sensaciones que transmiten al oyente, entre la nostalgia, la evocación, la melancolía o la inquietud, pero creando siempre un clima agradable y relajante. Existe además un extra track no incluido en el CD, que sólo puede obtenerse mediante descarga de la red, titulado Are You Going? basado en la canción tradicional inglesa Scarborough Fair, cuya novedad es que está interpretado por nada menos que tres pianistas (Daniella Acker, Steven Kings y el propio compositor, John Pitts) compartiendo un mismo piano.

Muy lejos de los experimentos de vanguardia, este es un CD recomendable para melómanos dispuestos a disfrutar y emocionarse con algo tan sencillo como los sonidos de un piano que nos despierta sensaciones a flor de piel.

 

Mark Tanner, Piano Professional Magazine Summer 2009

The first three minutes of this recording from pianist Steven Kings, recorded in Bristol six months ago, is a work entitled Changes, to which the subtitle for 20 nifty fingers is added. In case you are wondering whether Steven Kings took his shoes and socks off for the occasion, or employed the services of a Dohnanyi-schooled cephalopod, I hasten to add that Kings is ably assisted by John Pitts here, composer of all sixteen tracks included on the album. I enjoyed listening to the recording, which has a refreshingly transparent character that suits the music. Changes, incidentally, comes over most convincingly, its constantly rebuffed rhythmic thrust deftly negotiated so that the sense of an organic growth is ever apparent. Toccata, subtitled Blue Frenzy and described as a ‘tour de force of driving energy’, also lives up to its title, calling for exceptional dexterity and rhythmic commitment to embody the quirkiness of the writing. Insistent chordal shapes elbow their way past passages that demand a even, leggiero touch – a jazzy and well envisioned piece that is very tightly caught by Kings. In 7 Airs and Fantasias Pitts fuses together the lyrical and the minimalistic, a work composed over a period of fifteen years that mostly succeeds in holding the attention. There is a naive charm to some of the more tuneful pieces, and these can suddenly give way to episodes of a more bittersweet fragrance that catch you by surprise. The titles, such as On the Westminster Chimes, Half-Second Hand and Clockwork 5/4 are highly suggestive and appropriate, while the Fantasias are often inclined towards a jazz-like impetus. After Satie works very nicely indeed, succeeding in squaring the circle between the youthful Pitts and the Honfleur-dwelling Frenchman prone to pared-down vignettes. Fantasia 2 involves modest preparation to the piano, so that various effects emerge surrounding the carillon itself – a well considered structure to the piece that nevertheless ensures the survival of the fantasia image. One or two of the set, particularly later, seem to lose their way slightly, although the meditative connotation is certainly palpable.

Brother of Antony Pitts (whose epic choral work Tonus Peregrinus I had the pleasure of reviewing elsewhere, quite recently), John's music clearly has great character and emotional integrity, too. The playing throughout this recording is highly rhythmic and invigorating, Steven Kings communicating the mood-switches with real understanding, patience and sympathy. A thoroughly worthwhile project.

 

Michael Darvell, classicalsource.com 6 October 2009

...Original or derivative is the question to ask about the piano music of John Pitts. It certainly has a character all of its own but then it also recalls many styles from Bach and Scarlatti all the way through to Ludovico Einaudi and Michael Nyman, taking in Scott Joplin and Erik Satie en route and there’s even a nod to the mediaeval folk-song ‘Scarborough Fair’ and Big Ben in the ding-dong shape of the Westminster chimes. Pitts’s music is full of references such as these which give the works an amusingly offbeat charm and an ability eventually to grow on the listener. But is it anything more than just “intensely pleasant music”, as it has been described elsewhere?

Obviously Pitts has talent and imagination and is ploughing his own musical furrow. ...Some of the pieces could well be turned into songs, and especially so with Air 3 (‘On an anagram’) with its slow, mournful melody, which seems particularly ripe for treatment as a ballad or torch song. Play these pieces several times and they do begin to stay with you, which must be a sign that they are surely more than just “intensely pleasant music”.

 

Paul Riley, Venue 23 September 2009

 `Intensely pleasant music' is a disc summoned (and sustained) by bells. Actually `summoned' doesn't begin to cover the urgency of `Changes' - 3 minutes of minimalist romp with attitude played with steely muscularity and razor-sharp rhythmic verve by the composer and Steven Kings (who shoulders the rest of the disc, solo, with a confident authority). The Toccata that follows is a pithy razzle with a bluesy undertow and some Messiaenic chirruping. So far, (and this is a compliment!), so `un-pleasant'. All that changes with the first of the 7 Airs and Fantasias, which ushers in a sometimes uneasy balance between the guilelessly appealing and the occasionally anodyne. `After Satie' does what it says on the tin with an extra layer to keep warm, the Cageian `prepared' effects lend an ingenious edginess to `On the Westminster Chimes' while `On an anagram' sounds like a Chopin prelude mated with loved-up Faure. Talk about the ear-catchingly rough with the smooth!

 

Calum MacDonald, International Record Review  July/August 2009 issue

... highly listenable stuff, very deftly in control of its chosen medium.  A number of disparate influences are on display here, but welded into an overall idiom of considerable charm, which is no quality to be despised in these fraught days.  Although the longest item on the disc, the virtuoso Toccata, Blue Frenzy, is jazzy in harmony and rhythm, it's the opening piece, the piano duet Changes (in which Pitts joins Steven Kings as second pianist), which sets the technical tone.  The composer describes it as `a minimalistic counting duel for twenty nifty fingers', and it signals the fact that a lot of these movements are processes or machines of some sort, setting up a rhythmic/harmonic premise and letting it play out, often very inventively, over a stretch of minutes.

Quite a few of the movements are bell-pieces of various kinds: Fantasia 2 (On the Westminster Chimes) calls for a prepared piano to create some of the campanular sonorities, while the longest movement in Airs and Fantasias, namely Fantasia 4 (Wind Chimes), evokes the seemingly random tintinnabulations of wind chimes.  Fantasias 1 and 6 are both in their different ways clockwork imitations.  Air 2 (After Satie) is a lush, warmed-up Gymnopédie, Air 7 (Cantabile Mist) a waft of tremulous Impressionism, the concluding Fantasia 7 (All in a chord) a gamelan piece.  One thinks Debussy, a little Messiaen, `La vallée des cloches' (Ravel's Miroirs), but some pieces (Air 5, Calmly Contented) wear their modal, English-music origins with pride.  One thinks Vaughan Williams and Graham Fitkin.  All this is just to indicate that Pitts has an eclectic ear, and to give some ideas of what the music sounds like; but it is serenely (I've used that word again) sure of its direction.

There's little to choose between Kings's and Jacobs's interpretations of the three pieces they duplicate, except that Kings gives Air 1 and Fantasia 1 more time and space to breathe.  Jacobs's more clipped readings may partly have been determined by the acoustic he was recorded in, and the piano he was using: the sound on the new (and very well-filled) CD is extremely good and Kings (a fellow-member of the Severnside Composers' Alliance) proves a sympathetic and resourceful advocate of Pitts's music.

'Intensely pleasant music'?  Most certainly. ...

 

Andy Whitehead, Cross Rhythms  

9/10  This entirely instrumental CD contains music composed by Britain's John Pitts and played predominantly on piano by Steven Kings. Some of the tracks are vaguely reminiscent of the minimalist style of popular classical composer Ludovico Einaudi. The album begin with two stand-alone pieces and then tracks vary in style and are divided into seven "air" tracks and seven "fantasia" tracks. That these tracks alternate on the track listing (air, then fantasia, then air again, etc.) serves to clearly highlight the differences and similarities in style between the two. The air tracks are traditional ballad-style pieces dominated by melody and a more rigid structure. The fantasia tracks are more experimental, occasionally featuring bell or plucked string sounds and possessing an improvisational or loose musical structure. Notable tracks include "Fantasia 2", which is given the sub-title "On The Westminster Chimes", it musically quotes the famous tune played on the Westminster Chimes that signifies the arrival of a new hour and explores this melody in an engaging and original way. This album is a musical treat for anyone who enjoys original piano music; it draws from many musical sources and explores them in an abstract and intriguing way, without compromising the originality of the composition. The music never strays too far from conventional tonal music and stays calm, relaxing and interesting throughout. For people who appreciate piano music, this music is well structured and not clichéd, and for people who are looking for some soft instrumental music, this album is beautiful, moving and relaxing.

 

Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion  June/July 2009 issue

...we have a style of `modern-music-without-tears'...  and there is no doubt of the composer's admirably consistent expressive style. Much of this music is governed by a sensitive and intelligent creative personality, and the general character of Pitts's work, as exemplified here, is well worth the attention of listeners - especially those who tend to shy away from modern music.

...really fine performances from Steven Kings... The sound quality is excellent...

 

Andy Gill  The Independent     17 April 2009

The seemingly oxymoronic title, suggestive of Satie or the balmier moments of Debussy, turns out to be not far from the truth.

One Air is even subtitled "After Satie", and not without cause, while the first Fantasias employs a twinkling delicacy akin to a music-box; another features prepared piano, trapped strings resonating beneath the cascades of notes. "Changes" (for the "20 nifty fingers" of performer and composer together) is a minimalist exercise incorporating rapid, staccato waves, while the toccata "Blue Frenzy" scurries between blues and dissonance, variously recalling Keith Jarrett, Sun Ra and Bud Powell. Deftly impressive.

Download this: 'Changes', 'Blue Frenzy', 'Fantasia 2'

 

Jonathan Woolf  MusicWeb International  May 2009

 Dunelm Records released an Air and two Fantasies by John Pitts on DRD0238. Now here we have the full set of fourteen on this disc, with two extras, Changes and the Toccata, in authoritative and tremendously agile performances by Steven Kings.

Pitts studied at Bristol and Manchester and in 2003 won the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship Fund Composition Prize. He composes for a wide range of forces, chamber, solo piano, choral included.

So much for a potted biography, what about the music? Seven Airs and Fantasias was composed between 1992 and 2007. They can played in individually, in pairs or as a full set. Melodic and engaging these are delightful pieces. The first air is fulsomely melodic whilst its fantasia has a tick-tocking warmth that moves off into mellower more swinging lyricism. The second Air is Satie-drenched whilst the second Fantasie uses a prepared piano – it’s a kind of chime study with Chinoiserie elements. The third air sounds like reharmonised Chopin, affectionately sad with vestigial Rachmaninovian chording maybe. There are Francophile tints in Air 4 and minimalist dynamism animates the increasingly exciting Air 5 with its strong left hand ‘pillars’ and vaguely French deftness. Whereas there’s quite a sturdy English buoyancy to Air 5; Fantasie 5 meanwhile relates to the first, second and fourth fantasies in its exploration of tintinabulism. The sixth Fantasie is explicitly minimalist whilst the seventh air offers Pitts’s ‘twisted’ harmonies – which sounds a bit Morton Feldman-like but you should consult his website for further information on that point. The last Fantasie offers an almost obsessive chordal concentration. It ends a cycle of verve, imagination, as well as colouristic and rhythmic vivacity – and shows Pitts as honouring a wide lineage whilst absorbing it into his own schema very successfully.

Changes (for twenty nifty fingers) is a fiendishly minimalistic workout for Kings and the composer, who adds his own ten digits to the pottage. It’s three minutes of pile driving energy and brilliantly exciting. The Toccata (Blue Frenzy) is longer and more malleable. It’s strong and tensile but from around the four minute mark becomes more deliberate. Outbursts though are vivid and as for its ethos, let’s just say that if Nancarrow’s player piano mated with Leo Ornstein, and Albert Ammons’s boogie-woogie piano was on an overdose of uppers it might sound a bit like this. Galvanizing stuff!

I’ve also checked out the extra (review) download as well, Are You Going? for thirty nifty fingers which is based on Scarborough Fair. It’s a toccata boogie of unstoppable, unquenchable verve and you will find it on the composer’s website.

Exciting stuff all round – vital, energising, but sensitive when need be. Toes – prepare to tap.

 

John France  MusicWeb International  April 2009

 A couple of years ago I reviewed a CD of music by the Severnside Alliance of Composers. I was particularly impressed with some piano pieces by John Pitts. I noted that his “music reminded me of Herbert Howells’ Lambert’s Clavichord; not in idiom so much as his ‘picking up’ an older style of keyboard composition and re-presenting it for our times”. I concluded by suggesting that “this is lovely music to listen to and shows a deep absorption of earlier styles but with a large degree of originality added for good measure.”

A few days ago, the present CD dropped into my letter box and I was delighted to be introduced to a larger selection of his music. My original thoughts about his style, ability and technique held up well throughout the near-eighty minutes of this recording.

It is not really the place to give a biography of John Pitts. However a few brief notes will help the listener and the potential CD purchaser gain some understanding of this interesting composer and his music.

John Pitts studied with a galaxy of teachers including John Casken, Robert Saxton and John Pickard. In 2003 he won the prestigious Philharmonia Orchestra Martin Musical Scholarship Fund Composition Prize: his Piano Quartet was performed by the Fidelio Quartet in the final stages of the competition at the Royal Festival Hall.

Pitts is interested in composing for Christian worship and for the stage. He has written incidental music for a number of stage plays and two short operatic works – Crossed Wires and the strangely entitled 3 Sliced Mice! Other interests include working with the Bristol Savoy Operatic Society as a conductor and arranger.

The music on this CD consists of a major cycle of piano music – the 7 Airs & Fantasias, which I believe is well worth regarding as an entity, and two additional pieces for good measure.

The disc opens with a piece called Changes – for 20 nifty fingers. On this recording the pianist Stephen Kings is assisted with a further ten fingers by the composer. It is definitely a minimalist work that is vibrant and even rock-based in its driving rhythms. Like much of Pitts's music it develops bell-like changes – a campanologist's delight. After many adventures it ends abruptly on a loud violent chord. A great opener – or encore for any pianist.

The massive Toccata is subtitled Blue Frenzy. This is a considerable work lasting near ten minutes. I found this work to be pleasantly modern in style. I see it as complex and even disjointed but I am not sure if ‘frenzy’ is a good adjective. The idiom would seem to be rhythm piano, boogie-woogie, rather than the ‘blues’. This music is technically involved; it shows a great command of pianistic style and sounds extremely difficult. I can hardly believe that it is played by just one player!

The main event on this CD is the group of seven Airs interspersed with seven Fantasias. This is a colossal musical project that deserves admiration. Pitts achieves a structure that manages to be both diverse and unified at the same time. That is no mean achievement in a cycle lasting more than an hour.

The opening Air (1) is subtitled Gently Interweaving. This is not minimalist in ethos, but is gently meditative music that exploits shifting harmonies. There is almost a ‘pop’ feel to this piece. Its companion Fantasia –Clockwork 5/4 is constructed from gently shifting patterns of music and cross-rhythms. Initially played on the high octaves of the piano this music moves into the lower register. I was impressed by the interesting pedal effects in this piece.

Air (2) carries the title After Satie. In fact, Pitts almost manages to ‘out-Satie’ Eric - if that is possible. Perhaps it could be seen as the fourth Gymnopédie? There is naturally a decided French feel to this music that is at all times very beautiful and quite relaxing.

After this ‘Parisian’ interlude the composer turns to the Westminster Chimes for his Fantasia (2). This is composed for prepared piano. I am never too convinced by this ‘faux’ alteration of the instrument’s sound – but in this case it allows the composer to contrast two completely different tonal centres in the exposition of this piece – the ‘prepared’ and the ‘normal’. The chimes pervade most of this work and it becomes almost like a toccata. There are even suggestions of ‘Chinoiserie’ in some of the later passages. This is a mystical, mysterious, and novel exercise that cannot fail to please the listener. Furthermore it manages to bring the ‘prepared piano’ from the specialised ‘Cage-ian’ milieu into more a more traditional and universal setting.

The third Air, On an Anagram is a delicious, totally laid back piece of music that exudes evocative chords, felicitous melodies and pianistic devices. The melting harmonies give this piece an almost timeless feel. And lookout for some nods (probably not deliberate) to Sir Malcolm Arnold! What the anagram is, I have no clue. And I do not really care, and I guess the listener does not need to understand this device to enjoy this lovely piece of music.

The Fantasia (3) is entitled Parallel Octaves. However the music is not all what this title suggests. This is no technical study designed to reinforce the right or the left hand in coping with a difficult device. The Octaves are only a part of the design of this piece; the music does have a minimalist feel to it with structural changes occurring slowly and subtly.

The next Air; Sarabande is actually a meditative and exploratory piece. It is sometimes quite a hard-edged example of the baroque dance form that goes beyond the usual dynamic and range.

The corresponding Fantasia is a long piece that is designed to be hypnotic in effect. Wind Chimes hardly give a clue to the clever aural effects that Pitts creates in this Debussy-like work. He manages to reduce the music to a virtual standstill – a near perfect equilibrium – stasis. I have not seen the score of this piece, but I guess that the entire Fantasia is constructed from some very simple material that is worked up and used with skill. It is a quite lovely piece. However, one word of warning: the listener will need to be in the ‘right’ mood to hear this piece. It requires a balance of attention and a certain letting go. These ‘wind chimes’ are not sounded by a hurricane – just a stiff breeze that blows through the listeners mind. After a livelier and faster second section the piece ends quietly, almost hesitatingly.

Calmly Contented, the fifth Air is probably the most ‘traditional’ of pieces in this cycle. To my ear at any rate, it is reminiscent of Gerald Finzi, though I imagine he was not a conscious model for the composer. The attentive listener will perhaps feel that the contentment is not quite as perfect as the title suggests. The calmness is disturbed now and again by something less serene. However the general impression of this air is of a concentrated introspection.

The fifth Fantasia, Bells in 9/8 is another poetic piece, evoking a variety of images in the hearer’s mind. It opens very quietly, minimalist and almost like a flower unfolding. Yet appearances can be deceptive. This piece develops into a little toccata that becomes more complex – both harmonically and rhythmical – until it reaches a mid-life crisis. Some parallel chords allow the music to slip back into the opening mood. Gently ‘clanging bells’ are heard before the work ends just a little more fraught that it opened.

I felt that Modal Twists (Air 6) was reminiscent of music from the 1950s. In particular I was reminded of the music of Franz Reizenstein. It is a good balance between consonances and dissonance and also between varying tempi. For a definition of a ‘twist’ it is essential to look at Pitts’s website.

The associated Fantasia is called Half-Second Hand. Once again this piece explores Pitts’s interest in bells and bell-ringing. Somehow, amongst the reiterated notes and the high register there is a definite Spanish feel to this music. And look out for the intriguing little downward scale figure that permeates this piece.

The last Air is called Cantabile Mist. I felt that it was a little slower than I would normally play cantabile. However this is a very beautiful piece that could almost be regarded as an essay in the use of the sustaining pedal. Naturally the ‘mist’ effect suggests impressionism – and this ‘-ism’ is never far away from what is a reflective piece. The final Fantasia –All in a Chord is all about chords – and their reiteration. The chordal structure varies between more or less complex harmonies. I was reminded of the music Steve Reich here. It is a perfect and decisive conclusion to a great work.

The playing on this CD is both stunning and seriously impressive. I alluded earlier to the Toccata sounding as if it were a piece for four hands. Steven Kings is obviously committed to this kind of music and makes a distinguished performance that does both composer and music proud. My only criticism is that I could have done with fuller programme notes. That said, however, this music is quite capable of standing on its own without a supporting commentary.

I look forward to watching John Pitts’s career with interest and certainly will be privileged to review any subsequent CDs if they are up to the compositional and performance standards of this one.

 

new-classics.co.uk

...beautifully played...  Steven Kings plays with great assurance, revealing the subtlety of music that ranges from excitingly virtuoso pieces to serene, melodic reflections.