Peter Michael Hamel - Hamel: Transition

All of Hamel's albums have their moments, but Transition presents some of the composer's most beautiful and most emotionally arresting music. Hamel performs several extended works on piano that combine rhapsodic melodies with rich harmonic flourishes. There's also an ambitious essay for pipe organ, PPG wave computer, and synthesizer that takes listeners out of the realm of everyday experience. The real gem, however, is a 25-minute masterpiece for prepared piano that transforms the standard 88 keys into a sort of miniature percussion ensemble. The music on this clever, yet highly expressive work sounds like everything from an Indonesian gamelan to an African bamboo orchestra. -- Linda Kohanov