Alfredo Santa Ana / Miranda Wong - Before The World Sleeps [Redshift Records / ASA Records]

Released as a collabroation project between Redshift Records and ASA Records on November 15th, 2k24 is "Before The World Sleeps", a roughly 51 minutes spanning solo piano album which sees Miranda Wong, acclaimed piano player, taking on a full length piece written by Mexican / Canadian composer Alfredo Santa Ana. Split into four chapters and their respective sub-sets, 18 in total, the compositional approach of Alfredo Santa Ana, the creation of a series of rather short pieces, 'easy to finish' in his own words and therefore probably more accessible than long and complex pieces of Contemporary Classical X Modern Classical music, is reflected by Wong's piano interpretation which ranges from lively, light-hearted and playful in the opening piece "Zaloasymphnesis" to tender and minimalist, yet still highly expressive in "Two Worlds" whereas "The Feeling Of Forgetting" and its almost hammered melodic expressions provide rather dramatic sonic pictures and probably the most extreme dynamic range on this album, the "Phantom Etude" references full on Classical compostion whilst its follow up "Fuchsia" seems to dabble with probably slightly Jazz-infused salon vibes of yore, "Ice Gods Don't Keep" caters, despite its title, some rather warm and comforting harmonies and the sparse "Snow Dirge" evokes memories of romantic evenings spent in front of an open fire just to name a few.

Album artwork on Instagram!