The Private Music of Suzanne Ciani

Track Listings

1. Anthem

2. Ondine

3. Italia

4. Berceuse

5. Hotel Luna

6. Mozart

7. Fifth Wave: Water Lullaby

8. Velocity of Love

9. Sailing to Byzantium

10. Inverness

11. Neverland

12. Tuscany

13. Drifting

14. Go Gently

The Private Music of Suzanne Ciani,Suzanne Ciani,Private Music,Adult Alternative,Jazz Music,New Age / Meditation,Pop,Progressive Electronic,Solo Instrumental

Tracks:

Anthem (From History Of My Heart)
Ondine (From Hotel Luna)
Italia (From Hotel Luna)
Berceuse (From Pianissimo)
Hotel Luna (From Hotel Luna)
Mozart (From History Of My Heart)
The Fifth Wave (From Seven Waves)
The Velocity Of Love (From The Velocity Of Love)
Sailing To Byzantium (New)
Inverness (From History Of My Heart)
Neverland (From Neverland)
Tuscany (From Neverland)
Drifting (From History Of My Heart)
Go Gently (New)

Customer Reviews:

Finding a new wonderful artist!.......2006-02-28

I am a seminary student and I was looking for some good music to listen to while I was reading. I came accross Suzanne Ciani and she is great! This CD is amazing!

Listener's Delight!!.......2003-10-22

If you love a cross between new age and light classical music, then this is the CD for you!! Suzanne does a outstanding job with her weaving of light synthesizers and piano and all tracks of this CD are a listener's delight! This CD is like finding a buried treasure that you didn't know existed, it's a MUST have for anyone who appreciates music to relax or set a special mood! Once you have heard this gem you will listen again and again and will want to have this in the car to relax when on a stressful commute, or to have at home to unwind after a long day. Suzanne's masterful blend of piano, synthesizers, and light percussions make this a treat for all to hear. Once you listen to this you will want to listen every chance you get!

Pure fluff.......2002-09-16

These days, "Dick [Clark], I'll give it an 85 -- I can wash my car to it" seems to translate into "I'll give it an 85 -- I use it to focus on my chakras." :-)

Just what the world needs -- more meandering fluffy [stuff] that lacks substance, direction and form. This is a perfect example of what some people absolutely despise about too much of the "New Age" music that's out there.

If you want to relax or meditate (or whatever activity that you "do" to music) and you just need some sort of sonic "wallpaper" in the background, then by all means, buy this CD -- it's basically no worse or no better than a ton of other "stuff" that's out there -- for that matter, just put on a tape of the sound of ocean waves crashing....

HOWEVER, if you actually intend to LISTEN to music (and it's not going to just serve as a background for other activity), then I suggest you look elsewhere.

If you want to stick to "New Age" genre, then I humbly offer a few suggestions (by no means a complete list, just a few jumping off spots):

Liz Story
George Winston
Paul Winter (especially "Common Ground")
Oregon

At least all of the above-mentioned are on speaking terms with concepts like form, sturcture, harmonic and melodic development, (importantly) "rhythm as a primary musical element," etc.

And, for what it's worth, I am a professional musician.

Sincerely yours,
Bob Abner

Alot of R.& R.in this gem........2002-09-15

I 1st listened to this CD in the mist of a very stressfull & depressed time in my life, and WOW!!! I as completly taken awayI was calmed before the 4th track this CD is so relaxing and soothing with a sence of serinity in the mix.and I have listened to this many,many a nite with dim lighting.after a hard day.prior to the close of the day....and by the way, TRY LISTENING TO IT ALL SNUGGLED AND EMBRACED WITH THE ONE YOU LOVE.Oh what a pleasure that is!!!

If you love the ocean, you'll love this!.......2002-09-07

This is definitely "ocean music", at least to my ears. I can hear Suzanne Cianti's expression of her feeling for the depths and the breadth of the ocean, for the calm moments and for the stormy moments.

Calling this music "new-age" is confining it. Yes, it is new-age, and the pianist takes advantage of the freedom from classical form that the genre affords. But it goes beyond that, and many who generally have no interest in what they call "new age" may well enjoy this. This lady definitely has the classical knowledge and knows technically what she is doing, and the effect is, to me, breathtaking.

Each piece here has a definite individuality. (That's not always true in new age.) Such cuts as "Ondine", "Italia", "Hotel Luna", "Mozart", and "The Velocity of Love" stand out for me.

Tracks:

Hotel Luna
Maremosso
Rain
Ondine
Love Song
Simple Song
Italia
Festa
L'Azzurro
Belcanto

Customer Reviews:

TImeless classic.......2006-08-13

No matter how many times I listen to the CD the music is always beautiful, soothing, relaxing. Close your eyes and your ears will take you far away. A must have for the collection.

This is Suzanne Ciani's VERY best.......2001-03-01

I've been listening to Suzanne Ciani's music for 15 years now, and truly she is one of the best artists of this "New Age" genre. I own most (if not all) of her CD's.

Generally her music is quiet, warm and inviting. Very easy to listen to, very beautiful, very melodic, very pleasant, very relaxing - but often not very flashy or exciting.

This CD however is truly an exception. A real stand out. It is just as warm, just as pleasant as anything she has ever done. But unlike many of the others (IMHO) THIS one truly sparkles with excitement from start to finish. It grabs your attention and won't let go. Even the weakest tracks are spectacular.

If you have not tried her music before, this is one of the best places to start. If you are familiar with her music, but have not heard this one, then by all means treat yourself to Hotel Luna. You won't be disappointed.

I don't gush like this about a recording often, in fact this is only the second review I've ever posted on Amazon (after being a regular customer for years). I wouldn't recommend this CD so highly if I didn't really mean it. I've been a connoisseur of this type of music since the early to mid 1970's, and I would place Hotel Luna among the top 5 of my entire (and rather large) collection.

Magnifico!.......1998-12-19

What can I say about this wonderful artist? Suzanne Ciani is who I would aspire to be, her music is so enveloping. I love playing piano, and Suzanne plays the type of music I could listen to all day long. The beauty in her music, the textures, the positive vibes I get from it, it's better than meditation. Congrats to Suzanne for another winner!

Music for Making Love.......1998-08-22

The tracks: "Hotel Luna," "Ondine," "Love Song," "Belcanto," and "L'Azzuro" are wonderful music to relax to. I could listen for hours... These tracks in the CD are also great music for making love...

"Rain" is especially good for when it is cold and rainy outside, heavily overcast. You feel as if you are following raindrops as they fall and tumble from the sky, one after another.

Tracks:

Neverland
Tuscany
Mosaic
Aegean Wave
Summer's Day
Life In The Moonlight
When Love Dies
Adagio
Mother's Song
Lumiere

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant recording that stands the test of time. .......2007-06-17

Simply put, I believe Neverland was Suzanne Ciani's best overall recording. Released in 1988 during the peak of the synthesizer explosion of instrumental music of the mid to late 80's this ranks right along with any recording of that time and is better than most. That was, to me, a wonderful era of music, call it new age, contemporary instrumental, adult alternative, progressive electronic, or exactly whatever style or genre that was, there was some truly beautiful and innovative music being created at the time. Suzanne was right there among the best artists.

Most of the songs on this ten-song recording were melodic, emotionally deep, innovative, complex, and beautifully structured electronic music. There were varying tempo's, with the title track and Life In the Moonlight being energetic and up tempo rhythms and others such as Tuscany and When Love Dies more moderate. I sincerely believe Aegean Wave is the masterpiece of the CD, a beautifully woven layered composition brilliantly displaying the rich, lush sounds of the keyboards available at the time. To me, this song could be signature song of the entire era. Two tracks differ distinctly from this pattern. Mosaic is an interesting tune, and a good one, but to me sounds more like a track from Ray Lynch's No Blue Thing than the rest of Neverland. The only true disappointment to me is the final track Lumiere. This is an example of that droning sound, with some no word vocals added in, that so many artists made a living of best known as ambient. There was no real tune or melody at all and to me it didn't fit with the rest of the CD. This was not the Ciani style, before or since, and happily she didn't go there again to my knowledge. But while it doesn't stand up to the rest of the CD it doesn't diminish it in any real way as the other tracks are so strong they more than make up for this one lesser effort.

I believe this music is still worth listening to today. I believe it's just as timeless and valid as music recorded with acoustic instruments and doesn't fall victim to the infamous "dated" label some seem to want to put on music from the past. All anyone can do whenever they record something is use the most modern and up to date technology available at the time. It's the beauty and spirit of the music that makes it last and therefore timeless. Neverland succeeds at that. As Suzanne herself stated in the liner notes of Velocity of Love she believes "hi-tech electronic instruments could speak softly, sensually, with feminine curves and emotions, and that I could find a way to share my sense of classical beauty with the world". She succeeded at that on both Velocity and Neverland. Whatever feminine curves brought to or resulted by her music, I am living proof men can still enjoy it. It's my hope someday, even now basically 20 years later, she will move that direction again as opposed to continuing in her trend now of so many years of piano and ensemble. She does that well too, but her strength has always been in electronics. I hope someday her muse will lead her more back in that direction.

New age by definition.......2004-05-31

There is no better way to describe what New Age is than listening to this outstanding recording. Not only is the pure essence of New Age: I'm talking about real quality, inspiration and soul.

For those who think this music is over-programmed, Ciani has that latin sense that makes her music pure, lively, fresh and with the touch of innocence of her first recordings.

I will mention Tuscany as one of my favourite songs of all music I've ever heard: melancholic is the word.

Neverland together with Hotel Luna are the best way to introduce to this artist and to this genre which had no equal in late 80's and first 90's.

One of new age's best!.......1999-05-12

This is one album that I think is underrated. First off, it's one of the best modern instrumental albums I've owned. It's also one of the few "electronic" albums that doesn't sound mechanical. This is probably because Ms. Ciani is a real musician (graduated from Julliard School of Music, I heard). The most ironic thing, though, is that most (if not, all) of the instruments used in this album are synthesizers, even though some instruments sound "acoustic and real". The album is also composed, arranged, performed and produced by Suzanne Ciani. This album WILL take you to NEVERLAND!

Average customer rating:

The Velocity of Love
Suzanne Ciani
Manufacturer: Private Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Electronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Hotel Luna
History of My Heart
Neverland
Live
Dream Suite

ASIN: B00000E5RW
Release Date: 1991-09-24

Tracks:

Eighth Wave
Lay Down Beside Me
Velocity of Love
Malibuzios
History of My Heart

Average customer rating:

Seven Waves
Suzanne Ciani
Manufacturer: Private Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Electronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Neverland
Hotel Luna
Live
The Velocity of Love
History of My Heart

ASIN: B000008EB3
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

First Wave: Birth of Venus
Second Wave: Sirens
Third Wave: Love in the Waves
Fourth Wave: Wind in the Sea
Fifth Wave: Water Lullaby
Sixth Wave: Deep in the Sea
Seventh Wave: Sailing Away

Average customer rating:

One of her overall best
Signs of Crossover
Music to enjoy for years!
What a wonderful CD!
a stand-out cd

History of My Heart
Suzanne Ciani
Manufacturer: Private Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Electronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Live
Hotel Luna
Neverland
The Private Music of Suzanne Ciani
Turning

ASIN: B0000000JK
Release Date: 1989-08-24

Tracks:

Inverness
Samukee
Drifting
Anthem
Driving
Eagle
Mozart
Jacques
Italian Movie
Terra Mesa
Anthem (Piano Version)

Customer Reviews:

One of her overall best.......2007-07-21

1989's History of My Heart could be called the last great Ciani electronic recording. Her immediate follow ups, Pianissimo in 1990 and Hotel Luna in 1991, represented her two most common styles since then, Pianissimo being the first of so far three piano solo recordings and Hotel Luna representing her move to more ensemble music. The shift to ensemble actually begins here but I see the difference between History and Hotel as here the added instrumentation supports Suzanne's synthesizers and beginning on Hotel the ensemble sounds of additional acoustic instrumentation moves much more to the forefront. On History various string instruments make what may or may not be their first appearance on any of her works but do make their move significant presence to date.

The CD begins with Inverness, which is my personal favorite Ciani song of them all and possibly the most beautiful song I have ever heard. Inverness, Drifting, Anthem, and Mozart all fit that same style of Neverland and Velocity of Love, with the synthesizer taking the lead creating that beautiful, lush, multi layered sound of electronics. Eagle, Driving, and Jacque are all excellent songs, more up-tempo than the other four, with Eagle and Driving being more jazz oriented. Samukee was written, per the liner notes, because a friend suggested Suzanne write "something happy". Inspired by a warrior Suzanne met in Kenya, it does have a bit of an African style drumbeat and tempo. Still however it has enough of a Ciani sound to it that it does work. I believe she did a good job of combining her style in with a different style. The CD sort of fades down the stretch and Italian Movie and Terra Mesa, though both good basic songs, didn't seem to me to be as inspired as the previous tracks. The final song is a reprise of Anthem listed as a piano version. It's good, but I think the original version was better and I personally am not very fond of reprisals of songs on the same recording.

Overall this is an excellent recording. Very professionally done and with a timeless feel that would make listening to it today still very relevant and enjoyable. It could arguably be stated this is as her best overall recording, though Neverland remains my personal favorite of hers. But this does represent the best mix of her early electronic sound and the ensemble instrumentation she has followed since that time, and also this is a more varied work than her previous material to date at that point. Whether this project deserves a 5 star rating may be questionable, at least in my opinion, since the last couple of tracks seem to be weaker than the rest of the CD. But it does deserve better than a 4 and I didn't feel I could justify a rating that low. I would highly recommend this to any Suazanne Ciani fan or to anyone who enjoys quality keyboard & strings instrumental music.

Signs of Crossover.......2004-12-18

My first Ciani album was the Velocity of Love and I confess that I didn't care for it that much. I'm not as drawn to electronic music as I am to acoustic, although there are exception (Ray Lynch, for example). Of course, that was then, and electronic music is now almost inescapable. What turned me around about Ciani's work was the Pianissimo series, in which I discovered that she really was an excellent acoustic performer with considerable composition skills.

This album it in between. Primarily electronic, the piano appears often (an alternative version of Anthem, Mozart, Eagle and Terra Mesa) it still manages to avoid what I call the 'bubblegummy' excesses that turn me off. Instead a balance has been struct, and several songs like Eagle and Anthem continue to get air time.

One reason for listening to this album is to build a sense of how Ciani developed. A classically trained pianist who proceeded to do electronic work for visual media for a decade and a half, she took a long time to mature her own style, and this album is a significant development even though it is by no means her best. It is enjoyable though, and worth picking up opportunistically.

Music to enjoy for years!.......2003-07-06

I was given Ciani's "History of My Heart" on cassette tape thirteen years ago and have enjoyed the music consistently since then. I purchased the CD version a couple of years ago so that "History" could remain a permanent part of my collection. The music is bouyant and evocotive -- perfect for relaxing, reading or driving. If you enjoy music by Enya, you'll surely love this album.

What a wonderful CD!.......2001-05-29

As one of Suzanne's greatest fans, I must say "History of my Heart" has to be one of the best compilations in this artist grandiose career!

a stand-out cd.......1999-05-09

a well polished follow-up to "neverland"...a relaxing, yet not sleepy cd...i guess, if you have to classify this cd into a catagory, it'll have to be under new-age...the exceptional cuts on this cd are "driving" and "eagle"...a personal favorite

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