Fear Not
Lisa Swerdlow is a seasoned pianist and composer of classical crossover music whose impassioned new single dropped today. Recently faced with a cancer diagnosis and wildfires threatening her Northern California home, Swerdlow has had reasons to doubt. When life is messy, complicated, and even depressing, music reminds us to keep the faith, no matter what we face.
In order to overcome the darkness of this present world, at times we need a fresh vision of new life, to be reminded that there is more life than we imagine, and that following every crisis emerges a new opportunity for change. Lisa pours her composing chops into expressing the harshest tragedies of cancer, COVID-19 and wildfire. Her music is here to remind us that life always has possibilities, and that there is a new morning; even through the smoke, the sun is still shining!
Having explored piano with a variety of teachers, mastering styles from Jazz to Salsa to Blues and Classical, Lisa has created an emotionally evocative and uniquely expressive sound, influenced by Keith Jarrett, Carole King, Laura Nyro, George Winston, David Lanz and Michele McLaughlin. Her compositions blend the inventiveness of improvisation with the instincts of experience. She shares her thoughts about her muse, “I believe music can be a vehicle to healing our hearts as well as healing the planet. I hope that my music enters people’s hearts and souls and lifts up their spirit.”
When all we feel is emptiness and sadness, we are afraid to talk about it, and sometimes only music can deliver the message of hope. There is always the possibility that a particular situation will end favorably or successfully. When we need a new beginning, sometimes creative inspiration emerges onto the scenes of our life with an unfathomable realization that all is not lost.
New projects open new passages.
I hope you enjoy this concerto, both hearing and feeling the story. A story of the courage, hope and dreams that reside in all who immigrate to this place called “America.”
This is a story told using musical notes rather than words. The sound is instrumental, a piano orchestrated into a broad horizon of expression and emotion. The orchestration and inspirational support accompanying Lisa Swerdlow was created in collaboration with Doug Hammer at Dreamworld Productions.
Between 1880 and 1920, more than two million Russian Jewish immigrants came to the United States. The years before the Holocaust were an era of rapid change for Russian Jews, leaving behind the dreadful poverty of the Pale of Settlement. This is the very personal story of Lisa Swerdlow's grandparents who fled Russia to find a way to survive the harsh conditions.
Lisa Swerdlow started researching her grandparents’ immigration to the United States from Russia (and what is now Ukraine) in the years 1907-1910 due to persecution of the Jewish people. We reflect on the courage it must have taken for them to leave their homeland of many centuries, their family and friends, to sail to a foreign country they had barely heard of called “America.” Had these villagers and townspeople not made that sacrifice, most of us would not have been born here, in this country that--even with all its flaws and dark eras of history--has given me so many freedoms and choices not available to the current people of Russia and Ukraine.
Lisa dedicates this concerto to her Grandparents, and to all the immigrants who come to this country called “America” in search of safety and the promise of Hope.
The Movements
First Movement: Home of My Ancestors
This Russian klezmer-themed movement tells the tale of life in the Jewish ghettos and villages of late 19th and early 20th century Russia. Life had its joys and celebrations as well as its fears, especially of the Czar’s army showing up to desecrate what the villagers most loved and valued: their traditions, their homes, their temples. But, the Jewish people were and are resilient people who keep their spirits alive, even in the face of adversity. Finally, the time came for them to seek a new homeland.
The music begins with energetic woodwinds and piano joined by strings, solemn and uplifting. The emotions range from darkness to confidence and positivity, portraying a confined place where the displaced persons struggled to survive, they left with their best hopes for finding safety for their families.
"Home of My Ancestors" (3:36) is the first section, a feeling of looking back, with head held high. An emotional rememberance of the mass exodus of Eastern European Jews, with piano, woodwinds and strings to witness the sadness.
Second Movement: The Crossing
In this movement, Lisa imagined her Grandparents carrying what possessions they could, living in cramped steerage quarters far below deck on a huge ocean liner such as the Mauritania. The music captures the journey: feeling seasick, longing for their homeland, the great trepidation of crossing an endless ocean bound for “America,” which was probably more of a concept to them than an actual place. Their uncertainty is matched only by their determination to best the conditions on board; sometimes they dream of home.
"The Crossing" (3:41), and mere moments of music here portray the feelings of loss and the slow process of healing during the long voyage. The melody weaves a powerful tragic fabric with strings, woodwinds and piano, the spirit is both melancholic and persistent.
Third Movement: The Arrival
At long last, they step onto the deck of the ship. Their excitement and anticipation grows as they make out New York Harbor on the horizon. The huge ship’s engines grind into reverse, as the shoreline grows closer and the harbor becomes clear. The reality dawns: a new life is awaiting them, in a country where they don’t speak the language, don’t understand its currency, and don’t have any friends or relatives waiting for them. Still, as they sail next to the Statue of Liberty, they understand her welcoming message, feeling grateful for their new homeland.
Sad themes that weave together and build into an uplifting resolution, the third section is "The Arrival" (3:42), heralding an optimistic light, the sun comes out and you can see the harbor, with the Statue of Liberty slowly getting closer. The orchestra grows and crescendos with a strong positive resolution.
Music is often something mystical, intangible and supernatural. To what extent should an understanding of history shape our lives now? One of the lessons of the past few years is that the unthinkable is indeed possible, the banished evil only needs a banner and a shouting crowd to return. Our best defenses are vigilance, keeping alert to the sliding tide, and keeping our spirits nourished by things like good music and creative optimism.
Lisa Swerdlow is a composer and pianist living in Grass Valley, California with her wife, Lucie, and her three horses and one cat, Tuxedo. Lisa studied classical piano from the age of six playing Fur Elise by Beethoven for her first piano recital at seven. In the 1980's she performed at the West Coast Women's Music Festival and for three years, she toured Northern California with a ten-piece all women salsa band called Las Malandras.
After exploring both classical and jazz, her musical focus began to shift to the New Age and Windham Hill Records styles of music. Some of her influences include Laura Nyro, Michele McLaughlin, Carol King, Keith Jarrett, George Winston, Jean-Pierre Rampall and David Lanz. All of these different artists have informed her unique sound. She shares some of her intentions as a composer: “I want people to find an emotional and perhaps spiritual connection when they listen to my music. I hope my music serves as a vehicle for healing the heart.”
Coming to America Concerto and All is Not Lost is available from:
#LisaSwerdlow #newage #ambientmusic #LisaSwerdlowPiano #instrumental #piano
Comments
Post a Comment