I have dreamt of creating a piano recording my whole life, waiting for the time to share it. I had always envisioned recording for several weeks in a barn on some remote island, carefully selecting the jewels before presenting it to the world.
Yet it never happened. It existed only in my heart, imprisoned by my mind. I could always do it ‘better’ I could always do it different. I could always do it somehow more pleasing to my inner critic.
This is one way I have prevented myself from accepting and trusting the innocent express of each moment.
Not until life brought me to my own winter was I truly ready. Even then, this CD, create in one night’s session after a long day of activities, exists only because of the loving insistence of a dear friend. In the process, I discovered that when I improvise in tribute to those I love, the music flows effortlessly.
The decision to share this music is a statement of a newfound freedom, which includes the possibility of accepting life as it is. The recording carries with it rough hewn signatures of a living experience – a pregnant pause, here, a creaking piano bench there.
In releasing this recorded snapshot of an unadorned musical moment, I am breaking from an ancient devotion to a tyrannical inner oppressor. The title, Winterfaith, echoes the prayer that in times when Winter seems unending, while Spring is still deep in hiding, a light awaits within, and good will find its way home.
If you have ever judged yourself by your inner critic, or found yourself feeling the night would never end, I invite you to enter this chamber of music to remember and feel the ever-now, every free morning of creation.
Listen to an "INTO THE MAJESTY" EXCERPT (click the link)
Gary Malkin is an Emmy and ASCAP award-winning composer whose music is featured in film and television. His healing music includes the acclaimed CD/Giftbook for Transitions, Graceful Passages. His piano style is inspired by the music of Keith Jarrett and Eric Satie, as well as a desire to create a refuge for the heart, soul, and spirit.
