Néo-Romance

This Canadian pianist-composer’s Néo-Romance is an enchantingly whimsical collection of 14 songs (without words) that defies categorization; instead just surrender to a delightful musical voice and a piano sound that has a touch of magic about it—at times it could almost be a harp. Stréliski has a real feel for melody and she envelops each in a gentle cocoon of harmonic and rhythmic texture. “The hills” and “BORDERS,” for example, take very simple melodies and float them over a gently undulating bed of sound that seems to emphasize the rise and flow of the tune. The album is rather like watching a beautiful flower blossom in the cool, gentle light of early summer.