Peaceful Solo Piano From the Heart is the companion songbook to Louis Landon’s 2012 release by the same title. Since the recorded album is one of my favorites for the year, it is no surprise that I love this songbook, too! I have always really enjoyed Landon’s recorded music as well as his sheet music, but there is something very special about this collection. I asked him what was different about it and he said that this music was much more composed (as opposed to improvised) than some of his previous releases. There are passages in some of this new music that have the freedom of improvisation and there are plenty of jazz elements, but most of these songs are not as difficult to play as some of the earlier music. I also like the variety of moods and musical styles - from smooth ballads to uptempo blues to tango, some very fast and some very slow and relaxed.

When I say this music is easier than some of Landon’s previous sheet music, I need to qualify that by saying that Landon is an amazing pianist with some very impressive chops, so this isn’t music for beginners. Some of the pieces should be do-able for upper-intermediate pianists while others will be more early-advanced and advanced. There are some reaches of more than an octave, but not so many that they will get in the way of pianists with smaller hands. The sheet music was transcribed by Rebecca Oswald, which promises superior work, and I did a play-through to be sure there were no serious problems.

The book is spiral-bound on a heavier paper stock that will hold up well over the years. The spacing is roomy and easy to read, and the cover photo is gorgeous. This is a great sheet music book that is both beautiful to play and to look at, and I recommend it very highly. It is available from louislandon.com.

The songs, their key signatures and the number of pages are listed below:

My Joyous Soul - key of C (0) - 7 pages
A Life in Three Acts - key of Bb (2 flats)/ E minor (1 sharp)/ A (3
sharps)/ D minor (1 flat) - 7 pages
Vision Quest - key of D minor (1 flat) - 6 pages
Twilight - key of F minor (4 flats) - 5 pages
Galaxy - key of F (1 flat) / Bb (2 flats)/ C (0) - 4 pages
Silver Falls - key of E minor (1 sharp) - 11 pages
Epiphany - key of G (1 sharp) / C (0) - 8 pages
Hangin’ at the Homestead - key of B minor (2 sharps) - 3 pages
Faux Tango Fantasy - key of Bb minor (5 flats) - 5 pages
Etude for Mother Earth - key of A minor (0)/ F minor (4 flats) -
11 pages
Spanish Holiday - key of D minor (2 flats) - 10 pages
From the Heart - key of G minor (2 flats)/ Eb (3 flats)/ D minor (1
flat)/ Ab (4 flats) - 5 pages
Big Sky Celebration - key of A (3 sharps)/ D minor (1 flat)/ Ab (4
flats)/ C - 6 pages
Namaste - key of E minor (1 sharp) - 5 pages