Asterisk Piano Podcast (PJ Cornell)

"Doverie," or "доверие," means "trust" in Russian. It is an improvisation for keyboard and guitar. The bass line sounds like an acoustic bass, but it is actually also my acoustic guitar. The form would best be described as an elegie. When I improvise, this is frequently the form that emerges unless I am intentional about how I think about the form before I begin. Stylistically, this piece could be described primarily as impressionistic with some Americana elements. This song is about the vulnerability you experience when you extend faith to another human being. People will fail you. When you trust in the Father, you are able to extend faith to them as an extension of that, realizing that, when they fail, you must be prepared to show mercy. This is the first piece I created with my new keyboard setup. It was time to retire my previous one. Hopefully my new keyboard will serve me well. The image chosen is in the public domain. It is a photograph by Maysam Yabandeh. https://pixnio.com/media/exploration-expedition-mountain-top-snow# [https://pixnio.com/media/exploration-expedition-mountain-top-snow#]

Yesterday, my best friend and I were having a brief phone call to catch up since we both were experiencing career milestones at the same time, and he happened to mention a quote from someone whom he couldn't remember that amounted to, "If you look at your life today, you will notice that it is the answer to your prayers from yesterday." Before he could even get the words out of his mouth, I found myself agreeing with the statement, and said so without even having to pause to process the words. This is a post-modern piece with Americana, minimalist, neo-romantic and modernist harmonic and rhythmic textures. It has a loosely ABCA structure where B is a counter-theme, and C is a development section.

As above, so below. Reality is fractal. Tune into the wavelength of the universe, and traverse it up and down. This is a liturgical piano piece that combines minimalistic, impressionistic, and modernistic elements.

When you drive at night, listening to the quiet, you can sense the world shifting around you as it resets itself for a new day. Like set pieces being moved backstage, you sit in the darkened world waiting to see what the next day will bring. The only light you see comes out of a solitary waffle house. You see a waitress standing on one side of the bar, and a line-haul trucker sitting alone on the other side. Everyone is alone with their thoughts. This is a prelude for piano, guitar and bass that combines baroque, neo-romantic, modernist and jazz stylistic choices.

This is a prelude and fugue in f# minor that I improvised that expresses what it has been like to grasp the relationship that modern man has with the truth. Modern man is a creature that loves lies and half-truths, and refuses to understand why his life continues to deteriorate as a result. Because man cannot be made to see the truth - even when it is staring him in the face - one must cut all ties that will bring you down with him as his surroundings become worse and worse, and as evil men take advantage of his willful ignorance. The only solution is to not take part. This piece follows the baroque form of a prelude and fugue, and has some call-backs to Vivaldi and Bach, while also integrating some more modern elements reminiscent of Copeland and Shostakovich.