NEW HOLIDAY MUSIC FROM MICHELE DE WILTON

[Sheila Geiger]

SNOW ANGEL, the third album by Michele de Wilton, sets the soundtrack
for the season. The composer/producer/pianist’s third album ushers in
the forthcoming Holidays with special songs for celebrating from
Thanksgiving well into the New Year.

Upon receiving this album, one is struck by its stunning packaging and
design elements, and the appropriateness of the title as it applies to
the lovely image of the artist herself. One’s next thought is that
this album will be THE ideal hostess gift and stocking stuffer, and
that you must immediately order five more in time for the holidays!
It is only upon popping it in the stereo that one realizes it will
also set the perfect backdrop for all of your holiday activities at
home, from entertaining to decking the halls.

Recorded in July and September of 2011, Snow Angel is a one-of-a-kind
album that was created and compiled in order to follow the
chronological period of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. For
instance, the opening track, “Thanks,” is cleverly-titled for the
Thanksgiving holiday. “Thanks” is a previously-unrecorded song with a
sweeping and joyous melody that sets the stage for the rest of the
album—and season. “Snowfall” is another previously-unrecorded original
song with which de Wilton evokes imagery of a freshly-shaken snow
globe with high notes signifying falling flakes of snow. The cascading
piano melodies and twinkling sound effects of the keys connote
snowflakes falling at various speeds—all in a cinematic framework of
imaginative ingenuity with the likes of Danny Wright and Thomas
Newman. In fact, the artist made a special effort to capture the
“crystalline” sound by re-recording it on a superbly restored 1909
Steinway Model B piano perfect for reaching the clearest high notes.
“Winterbluegreen” is the third original song, with a slow and pensive
melody that is as gentle as snowflakes tumbling across a frozen plain.
The instrumental song, previously released on de Wilton’s Daydream
album, was inspired by “Blue Winter,” a poem by Robert Francis.

The traditional Christmas carol favorites are decked out in all their
glory and performed with an amazing array of genuineness,
harmoniousness, and joyous piano playing. “Angels We Have Heard on
High” is a classic that Michele keeps relatively traditional, but not
without infusing a melodious mix of ear-friendly notes. The following
piece, “O Holy Night,” is another traditional song that awakens the
child-like spirit in all of us, along with “Good King Wenceslas.”
Notably, the harp-like embellishments produced on the piano in this
piece are stellar. The next set of songs—“O Come, O Come Emmanuel,”
“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman,” and “What Child Is This,”—is a running
arpeggio of holiday enchantment.

Michele pays homage to the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The
Snow Queen, on “Waltz for Gerda & Kay.” The story involves issues of
good and evil, relationships, and love; Kay and Gerda display love for
each other, despite Kay’s abduction by The Snow Queen in her ice
palace. The ambulating and seemingly somber piano tones resemble the
tinkling sounds of icicles forming, expanding, and breaking. In a
similar manner, Michele’s inspiration for including “In the Bleak
Midwinter,” stems from a childhood experience at the age of 8, while
learning the carol based on a poem by Christina Rossetti in a school
in Greece. According to de Wilton, “The heat quit… and it was cold.”
Perhaps the warm, sweeping piano melodies in this piece can give an
uplifting feeling to make it through life’s rough spots… especially in
the season’s midwinter blast of arctic air.

De Wilton includes one live bonus track on the album, “The Ice
Maiden,” inspired by a Norse myth about a frost goddess. (See the Ice
Maiden music video at http://youtu.be/Q98BhxaK_GQ). First recorded for
her debut album, Myths and Legends, during a snowstorm at the Chicago
Recording Company in 2008, de Wilton admits that she prefers this live
track over the other, and was excited to find a reason to share it
with her fans. On “Winter Bloom (Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming),” de
Wilton’s creative licensing soars high, with the song mixing original
and traditional melodies that are finely-tuned and interwoven.

At the end of the Holiday season, Michele creates a celebratory homage
for the New Year with the addition of “Auld Lang Syne.” The
traditional New Year’s Eve ode is full of rippling piano melodies that
wax and wane with delicate emotion in an almost reflective manner,
promising renewal for the year ahead.

Snow Angel is releasing on Michele de Wilton Records, November 22,
2011; it was recorded on a 1909 Steinway Model B and at the Chicago
Recording Company on a Steinway Concert Grand. The album was
engineered and mixed by Dennis Tousana, mastered by Steve Sundholm,
and manufactured by TSI. The stunning package design by Merge Design
& Interactive and photography by Brian Kuhlmann deserve special
mention, as both lend to the highly gift-worthy look and feel of the
CD. Tenderly, it is dedicated by de Wilton “In loving memory of my
grandmother Doreen Grace Robertson, who gave me my first book of
Christmas carols.”

The album contains 16 tracks, with a total running time of 50 minutes.

Rating: Highly Recommended *****

Links:
http://www.micheledewilton.com - Official Artist Website
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Michele-de-Wilton/26000011732 -
Official Facebook Page
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michele-de-wilton/id289424939 -
iTunes
http://youtu.be/Q98BhxaK_GQ - “The Ice Maiden” Music Video

Track List:
Thanks
Angels We Have Heard on High
O Holy Night
Snowfall
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
What Child is This?
Waltz for Gerda & Kay
In the Bleak Midwinter
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Good King Wenceslas
Winter Bloom (Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming)
Winterbluegreen
Silent Night
Old Lang Syne
The Ice Maiden (Live)
Total running time: 50 minutes