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Contents

#		Title	Length	Sample
1		Improvisation	7:48
2		Dream Sequence	11:46
3		Appassionata	12:06
4		Introduction and Fantasia	18:51

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Description

Progressive Soundscapes Radio, Stephen Van Hndel
featured February 22nd, 2004 2.5 hours of music.
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Bill Binkelman
Wind and Wire
http://www.windandwire.com

REVIEW FOLLOWS
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STEPHEN VAN HANDEL
Chiaroscuro
(1992 - re-released in 2003)

Stephen Van Handel, an electronic keyboard artist last heard from in the early '90s, has recently resurfaced and re-released his three albums from that period (while working on new material). This recording is one of them. Chiaroscuro is a term which (according to The American Heritage Dictionary) means "the technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation."
You'll frequently see the term used in photography or cinematography critiques/analyses. Here, Van Handel's use of it indicates that this music has a certain duality to it, that of light and dark. Chiaroscuro is a remarkable musical achievement which doesn't show its age at all. If you didn't look at the year of release on the CD, you'd be hard-pressed to discern this as anything but a current era album.

It's also a rather unique album, as it melds many classical music motifs, themes, and textures (and a few non-classical elements) into a one-of-a-kind
musical statement. Instrumentation is frequently orchestral in nature, such as flutes, woodwinds, brass, strings, harp, percussion and piano. In fact, more than once, I thought to myself "Is that a real orchestra playing?"
Listen to the tension-filled opening track, "The Calling" and tell me that, at times, you don't have the same reaction. As a result, fans of classical music will find a lot more here to their liking than, for example, EM lovers
or ambient-philes. This is not a knock on the recording in the least, just a statement that Van Handel's music entertains sounds, instruments, and compositional similarities to classical miniatures, chamber music pieces, and even more dramatic forms in that genre.

That said, I enjoyed the album the more I played it, as it revealed the artist's depth of feeling, his broad composing talent as he juxtaposed high drama with subtlety and nuance, and his unique way of layering his keyboards and integrating traditional sounding instruments with non-traditional ones.

Opening with the haunting "The Calling" (orchestral strings, solo flute, and exquisite tension in the refrain), the album moves on to "Only Orange Skies," a tender slice of melancholy, again dominated by a solo flute line, this time accompanied by a delicate plucked harp strings. Later, the flute dances playfully in the upper registers, almost as if it were taunting the strings, and the darker mood is lifted in concert with the emergence of a solo violin.

"Chanson and Incidental" unites piano and violins, along with synth bells and a sampled concertina. The piece evokes the sensation of walking down a Parisian street. As the track picks up pace, Van Handel begins to
demonstrate the ability to combine all sorts of sounds and textures - the concertina, hand claps, harp, bells - to craft a "whole" that is both dramatic and joyful. This piece is also superbly mixed. "Mystagogue" opens
delicately but moves into more forceful terrain with rapid tempo percussion on assorted hand drums, along with vaguely Spanish-flavored modalities in the melodic elements.

And that's barely the first third of the album, folks! There's an appropriately mournful and elegiac "Adagio" played on ultra-realistic strings samples. The title track, the longest one at eleven-plus minutes, begins amidst dark fanfare, march-like snare drum beats, pounding timpani, and powerful horn crescendos, but eventually moves into shadowy territory. Van Handel shows he can compose without the use of "traditional" instruments as well, here working with somber washes of keyboards and funeral church bell tones. "World Says,..." offers up dramatic world fusion soundscapes and rhythms, driven by pulsing African/Middle Eastern hand percussion and brief high speed melodic runs on assorted instruments, notably lower register piano (along with, I swear, the same instrument that was used in the soundtrack to Altered States which sounds like an eerie tribal wind instrument of some sort).

'nuff said. Chiaroscuro may not be to everyone's taste, although it's not in the least bit inaccessible, harsh, experimental or avant garde in any overt way. Yes, it is not traditional "pop music" in the use of verse/verse/chorus/bridge. And it is not merely electronic "traditional" classical music, a la the recording Tristesse from Paul Sauvanet, since it
(i.e. Chiaroscuro) hews closer to 20th century neo-classical (you may hear echoes of Philip Glass on the closing song, "Prestissimo") as well as containing non-classical musical elements . However, the artist liberally uses refrain and theme throughout the CD. Tonalities are both major and minor, although I'd say it tends to the latter. By turns dramatic and sweeping, haunting and beautiful, and sprightly and playful, what this album excels at is faultless engineering, incredible depth of feeling, remarkable use of realistic orchestral sounds, and enough variety to keep you interested through God only knows how many playings (I'm probably on my twentieth by now).

Stephen Van Handel is, arguably, one of the most unique artists in any genre. Recommended.

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MORE NEW REVIEWS: January 2004
HYPNAGOGUE, AMBIENT NEWS & REVIEWS:
Composer Stephen Van Handel is taking advantage of the do-it-yourself power of electronic music and the Internet to re-emerge with three of his CDs: his 1986 debut, Les Pieces Pour Le Nouveau Monde (remastered on CD 1993), and the follow-ups Chiaroscuro and Pearls of the Soul.

Les Pieces and Chiaroscuro (1992) are well-crafted pieces that showcase Van Handel's bridging of classical sensibilities and New Age style. Considering, as the liner notes point out, "Les Pieces" was recorded on tape, "track at a time, sound at a time," it comes off with an astounding professionalism and excellent quality. The music here ranges from delicately contemplative songs to work that borders on bombastic in its intensity-pieces that almost seem to try too hard but can still hold a listener.

In between the two is 1989's astounding Pearls of the Soul. Right from the start this CD is infused with a sense of release, playfulness, and a need to explore. Lighter by far than the other two works, Pearls combines Asian and Native American musical styles and blends them neatly with some experimental touches. Consider the tiny bits of electronic percussion that flit from side to side in the opening track, "Asha, Awake," sounding at first like a glitch but resolving themselves into a vital component of the piece.

In places, Pearls carries echoes of Shadowfax, Mike Oldfield, or Ray Lynch, repainted with Van Handel's personal palette and overlaid with the constant sense that the composer is just having a damn fine time for himself. From the drum-driven world-groove feel of "Winds of Nazca" and the joyful "Ese Pequeno Sentimiento de Felicidad" to the softer, more ambient touches of "Thunder Dance" (which is too good to be so short!) and "Listening in Ancient Caves," this CD is a clear labor of love and a pleasure to listen to. The only mis-step here is the anthemic and bold "Le Triumph," which would have been more at home on either of the other albums. After that somewhat tangential piece Van Handel gets back into the perfect slot he's created with two more New Age-tinged pieces and then closes the work with the blessedly lovely "Solace," a gentle piano piece that leaves the listener wanting more--not just of this album, but of Van Handel's increasing mastery of the genre. Fourth & fifth albums are promised for 2004 and I look forward to their arrival.
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Intro from an interview excerpt with Stephen Van Hndel
by Ms. Sonar:

Hailing from the same hometown as Willem Dafoe, Greta Van Susteren (gasp!) and Houdini, Stephen Van Hndel is a relative unknown. This is expected to change very soon with Stephen's upcoming new albums and his re-emergence onto the live performance stage.

But the part about being a relative unknown seems out of place for a young man whose music has been compared to that of big name film composers, Thomas Newman (American Beauty) & Maurice Jarre (not
the son, Jean Michel Jarre, but the father), contemporary composer, Gyrgy Ligeti, the timeless J.S. Bach, Michael Oldfield and Cirque Du Soleil-incredibly diverse musical genres all. Must be his Nordic genes.

When you first meet Stephen Van Hndel you are immediately drawn to his outrageously beautiful blue eyes, that are at once intimidating and soothing...so weird. (Take a look at his web site photo if you don't believe me).

A really fascinating conversationalist, this guy knows a lot. And it's refreshing that on even the most serious topics, his wit and humor bounce up to the top. Plus he's got this almost childlike, wide-eyed idealism that's, in a word, infectious.

Yet Stephen sees himself as a gray cat, neither black nor white- complex and contradictory. That makes sense though when I think about his eyes...

Early on, he envisioned himself as a concert pianist, taught himself many different instruments, and then settled in to study painting. I guess that's where the vivid cinematic quality in his work comes from
and Stephen talks about his work mostly in a visual sense.

He has strong design skills and his cover design for Pearls Of The Soul in particular, won a prestigious International Best Album Cover Award. Like any real artist who is truly intimate with his art and has a strong grasp of the process, Stephen stressed that for him music is the closer expression of the things that make us human-that closes gaps.
Expect some gargantuan surprises to come your way soon from this 'relative unknown', Stephen Van Hndel.

REVIEWS:
Pieces For The New World (USA) - Stephen Van Hndel
Here's a debut release by an unknown new artist that honestly overwhelmed me with its high level of technical professionalism and sophisticated compositions. Stephen is a L.A. free lance graphic artist and on the evidence of this new work also one of
the best U.S. indie synthesists I've heard this year. LES PIECES... combines a dramatic neo-classical feel with a striking minimalist 'new music' sensibility to achieve a fusion that's literally filled with beautifully executed ideas. If a comparison must be made,
perhaps Oldfield's Ommadawn had the same impact on me upon first listen. Only here, the keyboards replace guitar and the result is less rock influenced and more symphonic. Topped off by imaginative packaging the total production is worthy of any superlative you can come up with.
EUROCK

Pieces For The New World - Stephen Van Hndel
First up is my favorite, Les Pieces pour le Nouveau Monde, by Stephen Van Hndel. Between the title and the cassette packaging, I was expecting this one to be a piece of neo-classical fluff. Instead I got one of the more invigorating plastic-and-magnetic
slabs of New Age I've heard yet. The tones are mostly bright and sharp, with lots of motion, and the production is very tasteful and clean. I found it great music to work to - a massage to the scalp, as it were, as opposed to the jackhammer of techno or
the syrupy fluff of Kitaro and his like. The four pieces do not vary off course from each other much stylistically, but thankfully also manage not to bore with sameness. It's in vogue to slam New Age these days - for all my eastern beliefs, I'm one of the
slammers - but a few wonders like Stephen Van Hndel make it a most enjoyable medium.
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE

Pieces For The New World - Stephen Van Hndel
Van Handel's Pieces for the New World is a collection of four long meditations for digital synthesizer. Unlike most artists, when Van Hndel puts together a long track, it's not just a short track that goes on and on. His pieces are filled with changes and dynamic variety almost like the way Mike Oldfield's music evolved through 18 minutes. Excellent voicing and a thundering low end make these pretty invigorating meditations, too.
ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN MAGAZINE

Pieces For The New World (USA) - Stephen Van Hndel
In the ever growing ranks of new American synthesists, here is a new name to add to the files. Stephen is talented in many aspects, he is a graphic artist as well as a synthesist/composer. His artistic flair carries through his music, which if perceived under the right conditions will conjure up all sorts of visions that will enable each listener to paint his own pictures. DREAM SEQUENCE to me, conjures up the dawn; birds rising on a mist-cloaked lake. Stephen paints his music with the colours of echoed piano, synthetic environmental effects, percussives, breathy flute and voice-like sounds. Like a mixture of Vangelis and Roach, I'm sure this will delight many. APPASSIONATA, is even more like Vangelis, and in my opinion, this is better than most of the masters work. Sprightly, this vibrant composition dances in leaps and bounds, ever changing with complex sequences, lead melodies from piano and synths, lots of percussive interjections, and unexpected twists and turns. IMPROVISATION is more gently pianistic and exudes an Oriental flavour - the structure is very difficult to describe, as the classical aire and Michael Stearns-like dynamism make for a most unique experience. INTRODUCTION & FANTASIA opens with sequential patterns weaving across each other, building and growing with synthetic orchestrations, entwining melodies, piano and a
bolero-reminiscent drum rhythm. Obviously, the faster sequential piece is the start of the Fantasia, like Steve Roach crossed with Synergy, with a vibe-like sequencer and classical interjections, it's very complex and expressive. I don't know what Stephen's vision of the New World is, but based on this piece of music with its Anthem-like power, he's not pessimistic.
AUDION MAGAZINE (England)