Blue Griffin Records releases Chiaroscuro, which features pianist Vedrana Subotić performing arrangements of traditional Romani, Bosnian, Macedonian, and Montenegrin songs by Igor Iachimciuc and Christopher O'Riley paired with Liszt's Sonata in B Minor...

On Chiaroscuro, pianist Vedrana Subotić performs five of her favourite traditional folk songs which she learned to play on the piano as a child as her mother sung her the melodies.

Talking about these pieces, Subotić says: "They were sung in times of turmoil and peace, sadness and joy, life and death. They speak of love and longing, of hope, beauty, and loss. By recording these five commissioned arrangements for solo piano, I hope to share their unique beauty with both the uninitiated and with those who already know and love them as much as I do."

As well as the folk songs, the album is rounded out with Franz Liszt's 'B minor piano sonata'. The scope of the work is reminiscent of the epic poetry from the composer's native Hungary, and melodies throughout are based on regional modal scales, paired with a Hungarian Czardas.

The 6 tracks (1 hr, 01 min, 05 sec) work well together and it's wonderful that these important pieces are being brought to a wider audience.

Track listing:

01 - Djelem, Djelem (I went, I went) (06:07)
Romani traditional Arranged by Igor Iachimciuc

02 - Kad Ja Podjoh Na Bembašu (When I went to Bambaša) (06:55)
Bosnian Traditional Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

03 - Makedonsko Dvoječe (Macedonian Girl) (04:31)
Macedonian traditional, Jonče Hristovski Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

04 - Još Ne Sviće Rujna Zora (Crimson Dawn Has Not Yet Broken) (07:22)
Montenegrin traditional Arranged by Igor Iachimciuc

05 - Mujo Kuje Konja Po Mjesecu (Mujo Shoes His Horse Under the Moonlight) (05:58)
Bosnian traditional Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

06 - Sonata in B minor, s.178 (30:14)
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

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Darren Rea