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Tales from the North, Book I

by Simo Sakari Aaltonen

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Stephen Abbott
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1.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 1 03:19
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2.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 2 02:55
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3.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 3 03:33
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4.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 4 02:49
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5.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 5 03:47
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6.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 6 02:15
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7.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 7 01:56
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8.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 8 01:52
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9.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 9 02:14
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10.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 10 01:43
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11.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 11 01:40
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12.
Tales from the North, Book I: Tale 12 02:53
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about

Tales from the North is an unlimited series of compositions for two pianos and pianists. Book I consists of 12 tales.

Like stories, these pieces can start anywhere and in any mood, have anything happen in the middle, and end anywhere in any mood. Any and all emotions may be involved.

I wanted this music to be often energetic, youthful, free in every way (including in freely moving from any musical key to any other and in being unburdened by any unnecessary musical conventions), fast or slow, visceral or meditative according to the needs of each tale, capable of surprises and turns (again, like any story may involve), for active listening, concise, and rewarding upon further listens, giving more with each one.

This music had to be so free that it could take time to consider its next direction, or tread in place, or backtrack to find the right way, or stay still and inside a single chord for extended moments — this and much more.

I chose an unusual virtual piano for my own versions of these compositions: Spitfire Audio’s digital recreation of the Mrs Mills Steinway Vertegrand of Abbey Road Studios. There were many reasons for this choice rather than a pristine concert grand piano:

First, when I heard this virtual version of the piano, I was immediately enchanted by its unique tang. The instrument has lacquered hammers and isn’t perfectly tuned. This slight detuning and unique character, which may be acquired tastes — perhaps like my Tales from the North themselves — add greatly to the harmonic cloud formed in many of the tales due to their extensive and extended use of pedal.

Second, I felt it would’ve been wrong to try and create my own renditions of these pieces in the digital realm in such a way as to mimic an actual performance. These are my creations of these pieces in that digital realm and intended only as the first step, the introduction, of these compositions to the world. I didn’t want to pre-empt what I hope may happen in the future: hearing pianists perform these pieces on different types of pianos, such as concert grands.

That’s the third point: I approached Tales from the North very much from a composer’s point of view: they were created for others — living musicians — to perform and create their own interpretations of. To this end, Tales from the North will eventually be published as sheet music — a process already underway at the time of this release.

Before I finish, I wish to mention what a great inspiration the beautiful work of the Labèque Sisters has been for me — an important part of my original inspiration for embarking on this series of short pieces for piano duos.

Thank you for reading. I hope you’ll find much of interest, beautiful or strange, beguiling or shocking, overwhelming or gentle, serious or playful, in this first set of my Tales from the North.

—Simo Sakari Aaltonen

credits

released June 6, 2023

Music & liner notes © 2023 Simo Sakari Aaltonen. Photo of me at an amusement park taken in my happy early years by my beloved mother, Marja-Liisa Aaltonen.

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Simo Sakari Aaltonen Finland

Finnish writer, composer, filmmaker, visual artist, and podcaster.

As well as his own books — such as At Dawn: Early Short Stories — he’s written for story-oriented video games, including the psychological horror hit Serena.

As a composer, he published his first large-scale musical work, An Iceland Symphony, in May 2021.

His podcast What Now with Simo is available in many places. ... more

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