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ALBUM INFO:

Composer & Performer: Michele McLaughlin®
Format: Audio CD
Packaging: Eco-Wallet with Booklet and CD
Shrink Wrapped
Type of Music: Solo Piano / Instrumental Only

Copyright ©℗2024

ABOUT THIS ALBUM
Iceland is a small island in the North Atlantic Ocean that boasts a dramatic landscape of volcanoes, black sand beaches, green moss covered lava rocks, thousands of waterfalls, glaciers, geysers, dramatic sea cliffs, towering mountain ranges, and breathtaking scenery. It is one of my all time favorite places and I’ve visited there twice, with my sister, in February 2016 and September 2021. The first trip was during winter and we stayed in Reykjavik and took excursions to see various areas of the Southern Coastline. The second trip was during the late summer into the beginning of fall, and we travelled around the entire country exploring as many areas as we could see in two weeks. During these trips we hiked to dozens of waterfalls, stood next to an erupting volcano and active lava flow, explored the isolated back county, rode in a zodiac on the bouncy rolling ocean waves to see wild sea life, saw the northern lights, were almost blown away by gale force winds, explored an ice cave inside a glacier, soaked in geothermal lagoons, saw hundreds of horses and sheep that are unique to Iceland, ate delicious food, and we had an absolute blast. These were two of my all time favorite sister vacations, and I wrote an entire album of music to share what we experienced there. Please enjoy, my twenty-fourth album, Iceland.

ALBUM REVIEW

"Iceland is the 23rd album from pianist/composer Michele McLaughlin and is a solo piano recollection of her two trips to Iceland with her sister in 2016 and 2021. A place I'd really like to visit myself, Michele's music actually moved that trip up my bucket list several notches! Michele has always been a vivid storyteller with her music, and this album is no exception, making it easy to imagine the rugged coastline, unique animals, Northern Lights and more. The CD includes a booklet with stunning photographs and descriptions of what inspired each piece. Recorded in Michele's home studio on her Fazioli 9' concert grand piano, the album was mastered and engineered by Joe Bongiorno at Piano Haven Studio. As always, the sound quality is excellent.

Our tour through Iceland begins with "Aurora," a piece inspired by seeing the Northern Lights on a clear but windy night. The music swirls and dances, beautifully emulating the excitement of seeing the lights as well as the movement of the wind. "Gale Force" also expresses powerful, intense movement. "Roaming Free" is much lighter and gentler, and refers to the sheep that freely roam the countryside (except in winter, when they are rounded so they can survive the harsh weather). Very bright and lively, much of "Icelandic Rain" is played in the upper octaves of the piano, giving it an icy, intense feeling - definitely one of my favorites! "Foss" is the Icelandic word for "waterfall," and there are about 10,000 of them in Iceland. This piece also expresses quick, intense movement and is joyful and dancelike. "Middle of Nowhere (Möðrudalur)" is very spare, almost desolate, at the beginning, gradually picking up the tempo as it unfolds and describing an experience Michele calls magical and inspiring. "Eruption" is another favorite and describes being at the site of an active volcano, standing next to flowing lava, feeling the intense heat and hearing it crackle and hiss. "It was one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced." Very dark and powerful in some passages, lighter and more graceful in others, Michele very effectively uses the deep bass of the piano to describe the awesome power of the experience. "Hestur" is the Icelandic word for "horse," and the piece with that title is exhilarating as it describes a breed that is unique to Iceland. "The Ring Road" is the circular main highway around the outer edges of Iceland. This joyful piece is about Michele and her sister's adventures while driving that road. "Westman Island" was inspired by a community off the southern coastline of Iceland that includes a magnificent rock formation known as Elephant Rock. Light and carefree, it was obviously a very happy day! There are 269 glaciers in Iceland. The ice is blue and the glaciers sit on black sand beaches - a stunning sight, I'm sure! The piece called "Blue Ice" is slow with a steady, gracefully rolling rhythm and a simple but very descriptive melody. Our journey comes to a peaceful close with "Just Above the Horizon," a piece about the soft, golden light that is much like an all-day sunrise or sunset. Where's my suitcase? I wanna go!

Iceland is certainly one of Michele McLaughlin's best albums so far! It will be released on December 6, 2024 and is available to pre-order now from Michele's website as well as Amazon, Bandcamp and Apple/iTunes. CDs can be pre-ordered on Michele's website and Bandcamp. Sheet music and a songbook with all of the pieces will be coming soon, too! Highly recommended!"
-Kathy Parsons at MainlyPaino

SONGBOOK INFO

Binding: Spiral Bound

Paper: Heavier stock for easy turning

Released: ©2024

Physical Songbook Includes:

•All 12 songs from the matching album

•Table of contents

•Information page

Difficulty Level: Songs are ranked on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the easiest of Michele's songs to play, and 5 being the most difficult of Michele's songs to play. This songbook ranges from Level 2 to Level 5 in difficulty.

•2 Level 2 Songs
•7 Level 3 Songs
•2 Level 4 Songs
•1 Level 5 Song

SONGBOOK REVIEW

Iceland songbook
Michele McLaughlin
2024 / Michele McLaughlin
12 pieces/ 72 pages

Iceland is the companion sheet music book for Michele McLaughlin's 2024 solo piano album by the same name. It contains all twelve original pieces from the album and was transcribed by John Zechiel and proof-read by me. These pieces are note-for-note accurate to the original recording and are at an intermediate to early-advanced playing level. The music was inspired by two trips Michele and her sister took to Iceland in 2016 and 2021, and there is a really nice variety in the music that reflects the changing landscape, weather, and unique animals of that part of the world as well as Michele's reactions to them. Michele has always been a vivid storyteller with her music, and this collection is no exception. From "Blue Ice" to "Eruption" to "Aurora" and "Gale Force," the music is expressive and a lot of fun to play.

In addition to the sheet music, the Iceland songbook contains a couple of stunning photos on the front and back covers as well as Michele's biography. The layout of the music is very clear, well-spaced and easy to read. Dynamics, metronome settings and pedaling are all clearly marked. There are no reaches of more than an octave, and not that many chords - both hands are mostly single notes and intervals of two notes at a time. The difficulty levels that are listed with each piece below are from 1-5, with 1 being Michele's easiest pieces and 5 being her most difficult. Most of the pieces in this collection are mid-range. Fans of Michele's sheet music will thoroughly enjoy this songbook, too!

The Iceland sheet music and songbook will be available on the release date of the album itself, which is December 6, 2024. More links will be added as they become available.

The titles, the playing levels, they key(s) they are in and the number of pages are:

Aurora (5) - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 6 pages

Gale Force (3) - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 6 pages

Roaming Free (3) - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 6 pages

Icelandic Rain (4) - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 7 pages

Foss (4) - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 9 pages

Middle of Nowhere (Modrudalur) (3) - Key of A minor (0 sharps or flats) - 6 pages

Eruption (3) - Key of Bb minor (5 flats) - 5 pages

Hestur (3) - Key of A minor (0 sharps or flats) - 4 pages

The Ring Road (2) - D minor (1 flat) - 6 pages

Westman Island (3) - Key of C (0 sharps or flats) - 4 pages

Blue Ice (3) - Key of A minor (0 sharps or flats) - 6 pages

Just Above the Horizon (2) - Key of F (1 flat) - 5 pages

This songbook is very enjoyable to play and I highly recommend it!

Kathy Parsons
MainlyPiano.com

LISTEN:

Michele McLaughlin · Iceland

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