Una Mattina

Una Mattina, Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi’s 2004 solo piano album, captures the familiar feel of a cosy morning. Loosely structured on simple harmonies and meditative repetition, the piano has a light improvisatory feel. Einaudi uses spacious melodies and almost imperceptible touches of pedal. Most of the recording features solo piano, although a cello joins on “DNA”. Una Mattina's moods grow darker in later tracks—“Nuvole Nere'' conjures stormy clouds with short bursts of insistent chords—those moments never threaten to overwhelm the album’s optimistic atmosphere and quickly resolve into the “Nuvole Bianche” compilation of themes from the album.