When Michael Whalen releases a new album, I think it’s a very big deal! With an incredible list of awards earned over a career spanning more than four decades, Michael has done pretty much everything in the music world - he has released close to 50 albums as a solo artist, composed many soundtracks and incidental music for movies and television, wrote music for thousands of commercials, collaborated with a wide range of musical artists, taught at four colleges, and so much more! Michael’s newest release, When The Rain Learned To Sing, is a collection of ten original piano solos created in a new way for him. Michael explains:

“Over the past year, I have been writing and recording a collection of solo piano pieces in a very different way than I have in the past. Rather than recording the music in a condensed period of time, I allowed months to pass between pieces—giving myself space to refine both the sound and the performance until each felt fully resolved. The resulting album reflects a year in my life and coincides with the personal milestone of turning sixty. More significantly, it represents a moment of clarity: I have finally made peace with identifying fully as a pianist. That distinction matters deeply to me, as it allows me to embrace who I am and how I express myself as a musician without reservation.”

The ten pieces are piano solos, most of which include atmospheric reverb and other subtle sounds, all created at the piano.

The album begins with “Blowing Leaves (October Zephyrs),” a graceful and very calming piece that includes ambient sounds and reverb to create feelings of spaciousness - a very beautiful start! From its title, “A Life I Almost Missed” must have a really interesting story! This piece also has washes of sound behind the piano that add warm tonal colors. The flowing left hand broken chords in the title track are gently hypnotic while the right hand melody tells its story. The pensive “Unfinished Letters” seems to look inward, recalling events and encounters of the past - a favorite! “Whispers Of The Setting Sun” is one of the more ambient tracks and reflects the profound stillness that happens as the sun gradually disappears into the ocean. Starting a new decade of life always seems to bring a lot of mixed feelings and “60 Times Around the Sun” illustrates that beautifully. Very still and pensive, the emotions expressed vary without breaking the reflective mood - also a favorite. “She Has The Bluest Eyes” is a love song, pure and simple. Warm and gracefully flowing, each note seems to come from the heart. Pieces about fog are often very soft and muted, but “The Light Beneath The Fog” is a bit different with lots of accented notes and chords throughout - a variety of interesting contrasts! “Through The Window Of Your Soul” is soft and dreamy with shimmering background sounds supporting the delicate, spare melody. The album comes to a peaceful close with “Love In Every Ending,” a heartfelt piece that expresses both tenderness and passion.

When The Rain Learned To Sing is very highly recommended and is available on Amazon and Apple Music/iTunes as well as many streaming platforms including Spotify and Pandora. I have also included links to the videos Michael Whalen has created so far.