Pauline Frechette is a prolific contemporary composer and performer. Her music is defined as “Neo-classical” as she uses modern techniques, within the classical form, to reflect her own compositional voice. Pauline's work has been performed by the Baltimore Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, New West Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, National Symphony at the Kennedy Center and at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Pauline has sung on film scores and with many legendary artists including Paul McCartney, Beck, Cher, Willie Nelson, Neil Diamond, Muse etc. Pauline’s solo piano album "An Intimate Story” received rave reviews, debuted at #3 on Billboard’s Classical and Classical Cross-over charts, and is on the Grammy 2021 ballot. Her critically acclaimed album, "Colors of My Heart,” debuted in Billboard’s Top Ten Classical and Jazz charts. Her music is currently played in over 150 countries to millions of listeners and has over 10 million hits collectively on Spotify, Soundcloud, Reverbnation, iTunes and Amazon.
Paulines piano instrumental song, "I Dream of Old Russia", is one of her best neo-classical pieces to date. The song expresses the love Pauline has for old Russia, the 19th and early 20th century artists and culture. This was the time of great Russian authors like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky and composers including Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.
A swift, tight, and delicate roll of a piano chord on the first beat lands on a higher solitary note that floats in the air for several beats, commencing the dreamlike opening of Pauline Frechette's "I Dream of Old Russia." Already, the intricate music sounds pensive. Soon, the chords separate and a stacatto eigth note rhythm walks forward with a feeling of uncertainty, as if headed to a new and unknown territory, eventually blooming into flowing, arpegiated sixteenth notes taking us into the next contrasting section. The B section arrives with Paulines commanding fingers moving into a dramatic and expansive space. Rich and colorul harmonic structures, using of the piano's lower and upper registers, commence a vivid conversation. Dark, rich and very dynamic, full of emotion and expression, you can hear the influence of Russian Romantic music. Pauline gradually takes the listener from the delicate, free, dreamy structure, heard in the opening, to an expansive pallete of mood and space. Sounding almost heavy and tragic, this section evokes the fire and passion of Russian music.
The composition ends with a return to it's final dance with a lighter air. Throughout the piece, and until the very end, Pauline's sense of rhythm and articulation is very well-conceived. Finishing with a soft, open-ended roll of a chord, "I Dream of Old Russia" ends without resolution and a sense of mystery.
"In I Dream of Russia" Pauline captures both the delicate folk-like playfulness and the dark and dramatic soul of Russian music. Her song plays out like a well-written novel full of romance, emotion, intrigue and mystery.
Pauline Frechette is a spectacular and thoughtful neo-classical artist and composer who can convey a wide range of emotions within a singular piece seamlessly taking the listener on an emotional journey from wistful and tender moments to full-bodied dramatic and deeply moving moods then back again with the sweep of her talented hands and heart across the keys of a piano.
Listen on Spotify.
For more information on Pualine Frechette, please visit her website.
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