These poignant songs of love, loss and of regeneration are performed with great warmth and delicacy by Georgia and Alan in this second collection they have recorded together. Although often reflecting sadness, loneliness and loss they are never downbeat but indicate feelings of tender memories, held fast and the joy of love that never dies.
The moods cover various aspects of love lost, remembered fondly or still to come in the future. Night After Night represents loss and sadness and this indeed is blue, sad but never sentimental. I Can See You Passing By is similar in its sense of losing someone and cherished memory. If I Think Of You and If I Should Love Again look towards fresh loves and new associations.
Georgia’s voice reflects all these moods as the songs go by, changing emphasis as the memory or thought is expressed in her lyrics. Alan picks up her mood on every selection and plays with light, melodic grace, always supporting the thoughts expressed and underlining them in his playing. The mutual respect and understanding between these two is what brings these selections to life and results in the performances being full of poignancy. It is a partnership in music that will endure as these and the previous CD tracks demonstrate.
Let Me Whisper To Your Heart was inspired by a letter to Georgia from her late mother, warmly performed by the vocalist with suitable backing from Alan. All My Life Is a dedication to her sister. When You’re Gone From Me is from an early song by Alan when he was just 16 and now updated with a new lyric. The final piece, the title track Quiet Is The Star, is both a reminder of the shortness of life and a poem to its enduring strength.
Pared down to essentials – a voice and piano – there is no room to be casual or complacent; these songs are given a true, expressive reading without resort to loud chords or high-note squeals. It’s just an emotionally charged duet by two musicians in harmony.
Discography
I Can See You Passing By; When You’re Gone From Me; Let Me Whisper To Your Heart; Tell The River; All My Life; If I Think Of You; Night After Night; If My Heart Should Love Again; Quiet Is The Star (40.14)
Mancio (v); Broadbent (p). 2020.
Roomspin Records 2020
