Ghost stories

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Originally improvised, then written out. Recorded on a Weinbach grand.

0:07 Storm at night
2:02 March of the Ghosts
6:18 Night gondola
9:08 Armageddon

Ghost stories is a short suite of gothic character pieces, originally improvised.

Storm at night is a dark introduction, full of terror and driving rain.

In March of the Ghosts, the purposefully ambiguous harmonies reflect the fleeting, ever-shifting forms of the diaphanous ghost army as they march through the night.

Night gondola is in part a tribute to the ethereal harmonic sense present in late Liszt, as the deathly gondola traverses the half-lit waterways in the gloom of night.

Armageddon closes the set with a clangorous cataclysm.

Whilst still keeping a foothold within the tonal world of the romantic era, it's not particularly easy listening.