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Composer Chlo\u00e9 Charody\u2019s new album Castle in the Sky<\/em> is an anthology of her compositions for solo piano, performed by Australian-Vietnamese pianist, Van-Anh Nguyen. Released to coincide with Valentines\u2019s Day, it is a dreamy collection of ten tracks which have a distinctly Impressionistic aesthetic.<\/p>\n Charody\u2019s gift is her ability to paint pictures with music. The themes she has chosen for the items in this anthology lend themselves beautifully to her style of writing. Freewheeling melodies, teasing tempi, wistful phrasing and resonant arpeggiated baselines give voice to intimacy and quiet introspection.<\/p>\n Van-Anh Nguyen\u2019s technique is light, bright and flexible, but also gives full voice to the more dramatic moments as in A Faraway Land.<\/em><\/p>\n The opening track, Pas De Deux <\/em>is a lilting waltz enriched with cross rhythms which waxes and wanes, optimising the range of the keyboard. Castle in the Sky<\/em> is a Debussyesque painting of a castle that might rise from its rocky foundation to veil its spires behind clouds in the sky.<\/p>\n Mrs Dorothy Dormouse <\/em>is a languid cameo of this sleepy creature which spends long periods in hibernation, punctuated by a moment of busyness. Weeping willow<\/em> starts in imitative style, drawing a willow tree swaying gracefully in the breeze, breaking into some unexpected tonalities at the end.<\/p>\n