Fiona Joy Hawkins, Rebecca Daniel – To The Wind… (Audiophile Edition SEA) (2023) [FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

Fiona Joy Hawkins, Rebecca Daniel – To The Wind… (Audiophile Edition SEA) (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 33:53 minutes | 1,17 GB | Genre: New Age
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Coast Records

Fiona Joy Hawkins and Rebecca Daniel performed live in the studio for this exceptional recording. The piano and violin brings music that is contemporary classical with a twist of new age ambience and perfect for relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. These award winning artists are known for touring the world from their home base of Australia. “To The Wind” is a followup to their critically acclaimed album “Heavenly Voices” released in 2021. The album was recorded by Cookie Marenco direct to DSD256.About To The Wind
When Fiona Joy Hawkins and Rebecca Daniel flew to the USA from their native country of Australia, it was to tour and to record a new album with producer Cookie Marenco. The tour was a huge success, Fiona and Rebecca played to full houses in a series of iconic venues that would add a lustre to any artist resume: Carnegie Hall in New York, Dizzys Jazz Club in San Diego, The Moss Performing Arts Centre in Grand Junction, The Hollywood Piano in Los Angeles and topped it all with a live concert at Echoes for NPR.

With all that under their belt they moved to the studio. Producer, Cookie Marenco, known for her trademarked pristine recordings to DSD256, was ecstatic with the results. The now critically acclaimed “Heavenly Voices” is a testament to their virtuosity. The time on stage meant their skills were well honed to a knife edge and “Heavenly Voices” became a heavenly recording, complete in half the time.

‘Rather than stop recording, this genre bending duo decided to try something new – compose music on the spot and reimagine songs they had recorded in the past. They brought freshness to older pieces with piano, violin and voices. All recorded in one take, live in the studio with no overdubs’ says Cookie Marenco.

“Heavenly Voices” was released globally in March 2021 with great success. With the world still shut down, Fiona, Rebecca and Cookie agreed that those stunning ‘one take’ sessions should be released. They have become the follow up – “To The Wind”.

The instrumental music presented on the album crosses boundaries from Celtic neo-classic to acoustic soundtrack explorations. Soothing, contemplative and relaxing.

‘No one counts on a global pandemic as a reason to record many more songs than fit on one album. But there are times when you’re in the presence of great talent, you need to record as much as possible. We’re all glad we did!’ Cookie Marenco (Blue Coast Records)

Rebecca:
Personally, The Void and Blue Dream are two of my favourites to play, and we’ve been performing them together since 2008. Contemplating evolved through the years and is such fun to perform. My Hands Were Busy was initially going to be on the Lightness of Dark album, but we ran out of time. The song then became an integral part of the concerts on tour, due to its moving and emotional connection with the audience. This collection brings a true “live” experience, presenting a concert performance with a studio quality sound. No tricks, just two musicians in a studio, recreating highlights from their 2019 USA tour.

Bio
Fiona Joy Hawkins is a classically trained pianist and singer inspired by Mendelssohn, Chopin and her Celtic heritage. Her song ‘Grace’ was on a GRAMMY ® winning album in 2014. In 2016, she won two categories of the Independent Music Awards. In Australia, she was an ARIA Finalist (2009) & MusicOZ Winner.

Rebecca Daniel studied violin and chamber music with Emanuel Hurwitz and the Amadeus String Quartet at The Royal Academy of Music. She was invited to move to Australia to join The Australian Chamber Orchestra, and was Orchestra Leader for Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music & Beauty and the Beast. She has recorded and performed with,John Denver, Bread, James Galway and the Chieftains, Will Ackerman, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Men at Work and INXS.

Both virtuoso in their own right, together Hawkins and Daniel make for an incomparable team.

Tracklist:

1-01. Fiona Joy Hawkins – Celtic Contemplation (Duet) (Audiophile Edition SEA) (06:41)
1-02. Fiona Joy Hawkins – Blue Dream (Duet) (Audiophile Edition SEA) (03:00)
1-03. Fiona Joy Hawkins – The Void (Duet) (Audiophile Edition SEA) (03:38)
1-04. Rebecca Daniel – Light in the Darkness (Duet) (Audiophile Edition SEA) (05:30)
1-05. Rebecca Daniel – My Hands Were Busy (Audiophile Edition SEA) (02:52)
1-06. Rebecca Daniel – Necessity for the Mundane (Duet) (Audiophile Edition SEA) (04:12)
1-07. Fiona Joy Hawkins – Rain On My Coat (Audiophile Edition SEA) (04:05)
1-08. Fiona Joy Hawkins – Reverie (Duet) (Audiophile Edition SEA) (03:51)

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