breathe

Meditation on the breath is as old as meditation itself, a practice already ancient by the time it carried the Buddha to enlightenment 2500 years ago. Chad Lawson, whose meditations in music have touched a vast online audience, connects with the essential spirit of life in breathe. The American composer and pianist’s haunting album includes beautifully crafted melodies for solo piano, for piano and orchestra, and piano in partnership with violin and cello. Each work invites listeners to exhale, to let go of the tensions and resentments that seem an endemic blight on modern life. Lawson’s gentle pianism, at its finest in “irreplaceable,” is complemented to perfection by violinist Esther Yoo and cellist Peter Gregson in several standout tracks, “fields of forever” and “letting go” exquisite among them.