Review by Daniel Hoyt & Staff
“Jewel Box” by Pauline Frechette is a classical instrumental piece composed simply of piano and strings. The song was composed by Pauline Frechette and arranged by David Campbell. It features Frechette on piano, Kerenza Peacock on violin and Tom Lea on viola. It was recorded at Capitol Records with Travis Warner as the Engineer.
The piece has a nostalgic and haunting feel to it. It often turns from the minor, sad and longing sound, to the major reflective sound. It could even be said that it is reminiscent of pieces like “In Germany Before the War” by Randy Newman. The melodic content oscillates between mystery and comfort, longing and soothing.
“Jewel Box” is the name of a constellation in the Southern Cross where the stars shine like jewels. The song was inspired by the lost loved ones that Pauline Frechette had thought of while gazing at this constellation. As an instrumental, the emotions of the piece shine through the music, which is why the feeling of uneasiness serves as a reminder of loss and the vast heavens in the sky . People who have passed on that were dear to us usually evoke a range of emotions. We can often be happy in remembering the good times, and we can very often be sad because those good times are gone. The sudden changes in feeling throughout this piece really make that idea shine.
Pauline Frechette has created a beautiful and emotional piece that reminds us that music does not have to be lyrical in order to communicate a feeling. The song is delicate and fragile, like life itself. Like the accumulation of a thousand small memories or moments in time, Jewell Box captures the the idea that life in the universe is eternal and mysterious.
About Pauline Frechette
Pauline Frechette is a composer and performer with a foundation of playing in youth symphonies on violin, winning awards in piano competitions, touring Europe singing and dancing as a teen and studying acting in England. Her Great-grandfather, Josef Vezina, founded the Quebec Symphony. Her compositions are best defined as “Neo-classical” which is identified as the use of modern techniques within the classical form, composing music that reflects one’s own compositional voice.”
Her compositions have 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 composed songs for TV and Film and her musicals have been produced by The Goodspeed Opera House, the LaMirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and the Baruch Theatre in NYC.
As a singer/performer, she considers herself a 21st Century “troubadour” DEF. “a contemporary poet-musician.” Her credits include singing on major motion pictures (Aladdin, Rent, Mermaids …) performing/recording with many legendary artists including MUSE for the 2012 Olympics; Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Leonard Cohen, Cher, and duets with Neil Diamond.
In her solo concerts Pauline moves effortlessly from her neo-classical piano pieces to romantic jazz and humorous theatrical songs. She loves taking her audience on an emotional journey with humor, passionate haunting melodies and stunning vocals, often playing a grand piano live to videos of ballet, jazz, art and other forms of storytelling. Most recently, Pauline brought her cheering audience to their feet for nine standing ovations at beautiful Thayer Hall in downtown L.A.
Pauline's solo piano album, "An Intimate Story” debuted in September 2019 at #3 on Billboard Classical and Classical Crossover charts. In 2018 her critically acclaimed releases included the album, "Colors of My Heart,” (debuted in the Billboard Top Ten Classical and Jazz charts) and her holiday EP “Winter Romance.” Her music is being played in over 175 countries to millions of listeners.
This music review was brought to you by BWH Music Group.
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