A Closer Listen
Everything one needs to know about Alone can be found in the video for “Home”, directed by Fiorella Sanna and starring Daniela Saragat. The din of the outside world threatens to overwhelm the protagonist, who lies on a bed taking it all in. But as she opens her eyes, the warm sounds of Stefano Guzzetti‘s piano offer a dual sense of peace and purpose. She knows what she has to do, but the viewer must be patient to understand. At first, one thinks that she will simply enjoy the pleasures of home ~ home as a house, including comforting pillows and soft carpet. But no ~ she puts on her shoes and goes for a drive, eventually ending up at the sea. We realize that home can be a state of mind. But even now, she seems incomplete; not until she begins to smile do we realize the final component: someone is making her smile. In this case, it’s the person behind the lens, but one can also imagine a lover, a family member, a friend. Home is wherever we feel at home.
Guzzetti began composing these pieces after hours, careful not to disturb the neighbors. His intention was to provide an aural blanket for the night. As the album began to take shape, he realized that these pieces were nocturnals, forming his “first album of night music”. While certain titles may intimate sadness ~ “Alone”, “Sleepless” ~ this is an album of comfort, as best indicated by “Berceuse” (“Lullaby”). One feels the comforting creaks of the house settling in, the drifting of the clouds across the dull light of the moon. “Night” is so soft the birds can still be heard outside. Even when light ambience enters, it does so like a welcome fog of sleep. And even “Alone” is active enough to imply the company of happy thoughts, a composer alone at his piano, his neighbors and loved ones nearby. As he creates, he feels the presence of the muse.
As with every Guzzetti release, Alone was initially made available in some very special packaging, featuring artwork by Gianluca ‘Marjani’ Marras. The man on the cover finds reflection in the child within. The art cards are lovely, like snapshots from a storybook. If one peruses the pictures before bed, one recalls the stories of childhood, read in a loving voice. On this album, that voice belongs to Guzzetti and his 88 keys. (Richard Allen)
Sun May 28 00:01:51 GMT 2017