Ivory Brushstrokes - Original Piano Music by: Isaac Lowder
Music has an innate ability to paint a picture, or evoke a specific emotion. It can create feelings of nostalgia, make us happy when we're sad, or even help us release feelings of anger. Stevie Wonder's song "Sir Duke" teaches us that "Music is a world within itself; with a language we all understand...". The first book of original piano music I published was all about emotion; How exactly a specific sound or style of music can make us feel. This book is all about what music allows us to see. Each song has either a specific storyline, scenery, or landscape in mind. On the back cover of the book you will see several pictures, each has a song it relates to. I'm sure you can figure out which is which.
Dreamscape, paints an ethereal picture sparking imaginative scenescapes. Eire, or Ireland, is obviously related to the landscape of a cou8ntry covered in beautiful green grass and many grand ruins. Scinillam Creationis, or Spark of Creation, evokes a picture of materials being gathered/organized into planetary and celestial formations. The Sheik's Downfall, follows the storyline of a Sheik whose position is in danger and ultimately, he is overthrown. Un Voyage en Mer, or A Sea Voyage, pays homage to one of my favorite composers, Claude Debussy. He composed a much larger work La Mer (The Sea). In fact there are a few little musical moments that I basically stole from him. As Un Voyage en Mer begins, you can hear the sails billowing out and settling to their open position. Once the sails are set, they catch the wind and the ship begins to move. There is a flowing motive in the music until a new musical idea arises, signifying night has fallen. As the crew prepares for the night shift, the music changes tone and speed. At the end of this section there are 9 strikes of low C, indicating that it is 9:00 p.m. The music continues in a peaceful sleeplike way as to indicate that those who are not part of the night shift have fallen asleep. There is a measure of rest before the storm hits. There are harsh chords in the music indicating thunder and lightning (obviously this section is meant to represent a much longer storm). At the end of the storm, there is a dramatic rise and fall, representing a tidal wave rising and crashing down on the ship. We hope that at the end of every storm there is a time of peace in which we can recover. Thankfully that is the case that at the end of every storm there is a time of peace in which we can recover. Thankfully that is the case here; we hear pleasant tones on the high end of the piano meant to evoke an image of a beautiful sunrise. The crew sets sail again until they safely reach their destination. Once again we here the sail music meaning that the sails are being retracted until their next voyage. The music slows as the ship loses speed, until finally reaching the docks.
I hope you see the beautiful pictures in your minds-eye this music was intended to paint!
CONTENTS:
DREAMSCAPE
EIRE
SCINTILLAM CREATIONIS
THE SHEIK'S DOWNFALL
UN VOYAGE EN MER
