Re v i e w O W M Radio
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Devotion By Dulce Joya
Devotion
By
Dulce Joya
Written by
Steve Sheppard
The journey into the works of a new artist came upon me in 2017 when I sojourned with the fluent and passionate refrains of Dulce Joya on her debut release Reality of Dreams, now the artist is back with a truly magnificent new album entitled Devotion and what a splendid album it is indeed.
From the very opening piece Joya grabs you by the musical collar and never lets you go, the powerful but utterly impressive Passione Nocturnale starts the proceedings and is in my view one of the best solo piano pieces and performances I have heard for many years, fast paced and filled with a sense of urgency, but so beautifully played.
That aforementioned style is matched so colourfully with one of my personal favourites in the heart felt and deeply moving opus of Yes It is You. The dance with major and minor here was emotive and quite reflective, and mixed the combinations of New Age Piano and a more commercial style incredibly well.
An artist like Dulce Joya has the ability to play light and dark, sunshine and shadow and that can be felt on classy pieces like Forgotten Worlds, her performance here would easily grasp a standing ovation with ease. The more sensitive textures can be also found on tracks like the mood filled opus of My Untamed Soul in Yours, it is indeed an album with something for everyone’s taste.
This is really one of those solo piano journeys you never want to end, the presentations from the artist are all full flowing, and filled with passionate streaming rivers of emotion that Joya is clearly in touch with, like the crafted nuances of From Ancient Time We Meet Again, or the climatic ending composition Mistery Among Candles, an offering that could easily be part of a film soundtrack.
Dulce Joya in my view has created her best work so far with Devotion, and in doing so has raised the bar of professionalism more than just a single notch of the ladder, this in my opinion is the apex of performance and presentation in what is an overcrowded genre of solo piano, but Devotion a classy release of ten quality tracks, is not only an album that stands out from the crowd, it is one that screams and demands to be listened to, and has to be one of the best solo piano albums of the last decade with ease.
Aural Awakening Reality of Dreams Review.
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Album Review : Reality of Dreams by Dulce Joya
Classically trained pianist and composer Dulce Joya began her musical studies at the age of six at an arts school in her native Cuba. Having studied, performed and taught music in Colombia, Austria and her current home of Germany, she creates solo piano vistas that blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy. Weaving elements of classical, progressive rock and theater music into the twelve compositions that comprise her glowing debut album, Reality of Dreams is a potent manifestation of this versatile composer’s ability to write musical poetry inspired by philosophical musings and novel-like romance.
“Romantic Power” is a dynamic opener that immediately showcases Dulce Joya’s boldly intricate piano-playing, as she effortlessly moves through the registers. Like with most of her other pieces on this album, she places much emphasis in the lower keys, which notably contributes to the overall richness and solemnity of her compositions. The next piece, “Call of the King”, feels appropriately regal and processional-like while displaying a renaissance flair. The composer then smoothly connects the middle bridge with a fluttering figure on the keys before eventually reverting to a more pronounced motif.
One of my favorite pieces the album is “Shadows of my Soul”, a contemplative number that passes through several tonal phases, while its neatly stringed-together fragments perhaps mirror the many aspects and complexities of one’s psyche. I’m also particularly fond of the aptly-titled “Winter Dreams”, a more spacious and slower-placed number which indeed exudes both wintry and dreamlike quality.
“Fallen Angel” precedes the album’s final piece at a lengthy 8:13 minutes with a notably classical and complex arrangement. A wholly immersive musical suite, the melody cascades with a powerful force like majestic river rapids, eventually subsiding towards the end into a delicate stream. And finally, the heartfelt “Goodbye” is perhaps not as wistful as its title may suggest, but rather exudes an air of optimistic solace.
Impressively cinematic and theatrical in her approach, Dulce Joya is simply a natural at musical narration, her compositions striking a perfect balance between vivid expression and subtle inflection at all the right moments. An artistically mature debut from a top-notch composer, Reality of Dreams is chock-full of sweepingly beautiful passages. It will especially appeal to listeners who appreciate neoclassical piano that’s tastefully ornamented with a passionately epic pizzazz! ~Candice Michelle
