Search - Craig Urquhart :: Streamwalker

Craig Urquhart
Streamwalker
Genres: New Age, Classical

Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
1. Morning Eagle
2. The Astronemer
3. Silver Stream
4. The Awakening
5. Jazzed
6. Remembrance
7. Interlude
8. Reverie
9. Flow On
10. Ghost Canyon
11. Thanksgiving
12. Impromptu
13. Streamwalker

CD Details

All Artists: Craig Urquhart
Title: Streamwalker
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Heart Earth Music
Original Release Date: 5/1/2005
Release Date: 5/1/2005
Album Type: Import
Genres: New Age, Classical
Styles: Instrumental, Chamber Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830)
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 717621000523

Synopsis

Product Description

Composer/pianist Craig Urquhart continues to create beautiful, compelling solo piano music, finding rich musical language to express profound spiritual connections between his soul and the world around him. Although Urquhart composes with clarity and balance, his creative process doesn?t overwhelm an innate ability to sound fresh and improvised. He has a contemporary voice while drawing upon the inspiration of the great keyboard masters. Streamwalker, his latest album, finds another lovely extension of this unique vision. Streamwalker, released by HeartEarthMusic, is his fifth album. Urquhart reaches a new heights in his artistry by exploring, via his own inner journey, the human soul?s response to the beauty of nature. The melody for the song that became the album?s graceful and serene title track came to Urquhart one day in the spring, while he was literally balancing on the rocks in a winding stream in woods behind a friend?s house in Rhode Island. He chose to bookend this set of 13 compositions with the optimism of Streamwalker and the similarly spirited opener, ?Morning Eagle,? to reflect our ability to appreciate that life is indeed a gift. Looking further upstream, Urquhart devotes much of this music to our collective desire to remain reflective yet optimistic. The striking CD cover shot shows a close up of Craig?s right hand gently touching the stream, entering the world in which we interact with our environment. ?Streamwalker is about the impact of nature on me as an artist and human being, and the many moods it inspires,? he comments.

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Member CD Reviews

Julia R. from GERMANTOWN, MD
Reviewed on 12/2/2009...

Relaxing. I like to listen to this in bed.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

CD Reviews

From MainlyPiano.com

Kathy Parsons | Florence, OR United States | 05/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Streamwalker" is a beautiful collection of original piano solos by Craig Urquhart that range from gently melodic to more abstract and ambient to jazz. A classically-trained pianist who worked as Leonard Bernstein's personal assistant for the last five years of the legendary composer/conductor's life, Urquhart's music sounds deceptively simple. However the complex harmonies and rhythms as well as Urquhart's emotional and nuanced playing style allow the listener to discover new facets with each listen. Urquhart leaves a lot of open spaces between the notes and phrases, preferring subtlety and expression over showy pianistics, making this CD a very satisfying experience on a variety of levels.

All of the tracks on "Streamwalker" has its own charm, but I do have some favorites. The CD opens with"Morning Eagle," a sublimely peaceful piece that was inspired by watching eagles flying overhead while on a canoe trip. It is easy to picture these powerful birds effortlessly gliding through the skies, riding the wind currents. "The Astronomer" is a quietly passionate piece reflecting the awe of losing oneself while looking at the vastness of the night sky. The open feeling of this piece and the deeply emotional expression make this a real standout. "The Awakening" is a piece Urquhart composed as a birthday gift for Leonard Bernstein, and is a bit more classical. Urquhart usually includes one bluesy or jazzy piece on his albums, and "Jazzed" is that selection on this album. Showing a different side of his playing and composing, these pieces tend to be a bit whimsical and fun, lightening the mood considerably. "Interlude" is several shades darker and more reflective - gently melodic and very evocative. "Reverie" is a special favorite, depicting the entrance to the world of dreamtime, the magical state where all living things are connected in peace; this is serenity set to music. Urquhart wrote the haunting "Ghost Canyon" just days after 9/11, observing the empty urban "canyons" of lower Manhattan that were once so full of optimism and humanity. "Impromptu" is a gorgeous, thoughtful nod to Chopin and Schubert that is warmly optimistic and hopeful, and played with a touch as gentle as a caress. The title track closes the CD with a light mood and a sense of wonder. What a great album! Very highly recommended!"