I have released a new piano album, "ROSICRUCIAN CHANTS", probably my favourite so far. Nine piano pieces of magick nature.
I am not Rosicrucian, but the primal conception of this album was boosted by the ceremonial Rosicrucian piano pieces Erik Satie composed back in his times, as well as the piano pieces created by Gurdjieff and De Hartmann. Those are influences that encouraged me to create this series, but didn't influence the way I composed it, for technically and in spirit these works are much more inspired by the burlesque, grotesque and scherzo-ish movements of Mahler, and occasionally by the expressive abstractions of Webern (two composers who for me are more "magick" than any magickal thing). In this album the burlesque and the solemn intermingle.
Mahler told this story about his childhood, when running away from home in a very depressive shock after having witnessed a violent episode. In such state it happened that he came across one of those street bands that played very light and burlesque-ish pieces. That made a big impact in Mahler's mind, and since then he expressed in many occasions tragic moods with a very burlesque and grotesque appearance. I feel that's a very magickal approach, therefore I used such spirit in many of these pieces.
